Once In a Lifetime
by Paopu Fruits and Sea-salt Bars
Summary: What happens when you go digging for the truth? What happens when a story is more than just that? Would you accept it as a reality or would you reject it? Multiple pairings but the main ones are Sokai, Roxaminé and Rion.
1. Bedtime Story

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts, it's characters, settings or terms. **

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"Naminé, hurry or you'll be late!"

A woman with long pale blonde hair stood by a large white wooden door. She opened it just enough to see a small girl of five years scrambling about in her room gathering up her toys into a bag. "Naminé, are you ready to go?"

The girl looked nearly identical to the woman; the same shade of hair, the same skin color, the exact same lips. The only difference was their eyes as the girl's eyes were a rich cerulean shade its hues contrasted with her thick black lashes. "I'm ready mommy!"

The mother picked up her child in her arms and kissed the girl's forehead, earning a giggle from her daughter.

The two of them walked out to the driveway where little Naminé quickly jumped into her mother's vehicle, her mother strapping her into her car seat. "Do you have everything, sweetie?"

"Yup, I have it all!" Naminé smiled as she opened her floral print cloth bag. "I have my coloring book, my crayons, my PJs, my undies, my toothbrush, socks, shoes and Peggy!"

At this, Naminé pulled out a dog doll with long ears; it had a glow-in-the-dark pink nose, a white bow above its right ear, but what Naminé loved the most was that the dog had glow-in-the-dark stars and moons all over. The girl hugged her beloved Peggy and beamed at her mother.

"Wow!" said her mother. "You are very prepared for this sleepover!"

The ride to their destination was relatively short, a mere twenty minutes. Their car pulled up at the front of the esteemed Coeur family, which they were members of. As soon as the car came to a halt, Naminé eagerly unstrapped herself and opened her door. She leaped out and ran to the main doors as fast as she could, leaving her mother behind. Naminé had barely knocked twice on the big fancy doors when it was answered by a maid.

"Miss Naminé!" the young brunette smiled. "Please come in! Miss Kairi and Xion are waiting for you!"

Naminé entered the large house and ran to the music room, where she knew her cousins would be. And sure enough, upon entering the wide room, her eyes spotted two girls; one with flaming red hair and another with rich raven hair.

"Nami!" Kairi, the redhead squealed. "You came!"

"Of course I did!" Naminé giggled. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!"

"Nami, are you staying the night?" Xion, the brunette asked timidly.

Naminé held up her bag proudly. "I came prepared this time!"

Both sisters beamed and the three girls laughed excitedly. In their merriment, the three cousins failed to notice an older man entering the room. He smiled at them before clearing his throat alerting them of his presence.

"Grandpa!" the girls exclaimed in unison. The three ran to him as he kneeled and was tackled almost to the ground by their sheer momentum.

"Easy girls." He chuckled. He gave each of them a kiss on the cheek before turning to face Naminé. "Where's your mother, Naminé?"

"Right behind you, dad." Smiled the young mother.

The older man straightened up and greeted his daughter with a warm hug. "Good to see you again, my dear."

"I hope I'm not imposing on you for bringing Naminé to stay the night." She said with a tinge of guilt.

"Oh not at all." Her father chuckled. "Besides, it's Aqua whom will look after them, not I."

"Who's Aqua?" Naminé whispered to Xion.

"Oh, she's our sitter." Xion answered. "She's so cool, you'll really like her."

"Auntie Isabeau?" Kairi asked politely. "Can Naminé stay the whole weekend? Pretty please?"

"Well…" Isabeau said thoughtfully. "I don't think she brought enough clothes for the weekend…"

"She can borrow some of our clothes!" Xion piped excitedly. "Please?"

"Please mommy?" Naminé begged.

Isabeau sighed in defeat. "How can I say no to all those pouts?"

The three girls squealed and cheered in delight.

"Lord Ansem." Called a maid. "The baby sitter is here."

"Let her in." he said then turned to face his daughter. "Don't worry, Aqua is completely trustworthy, she has yet to disappoint."

Isabeau nodded at her father before kneeling in front of her daughter. "Sweetie I have to go now, so promise me you'll be a good girl and not cause any trouble for Aqua."

"I'll be good, I promise." Naminé said sweetly.

"I'll bring you some clothes tomorrow, okay?" Isabeau kissed her daughter's cheeks and forehead. "I love you, Naminé."

"I love you too, mommy." Naminé hugged and then kissed her mother.

"Bye Kairi, bye Xion!" Isabeau kissed her nieces' foreheads.

"Bye Auntie Isabeau!" chorused the twins.

Naminé watched her mother and her grandfather walk away as a tall woman with blue hair came into view.

"Aqua!" Kairi and Xion ran to the bluenette happily.

"Hey girls!" Aqua smiled in a motherly way as she picked one girl with each arm and kissed their foreheads. Her indigo colored eyes landed on Naminé and she smiled warmly at the small blonde. "Hello, what's your name?"

"Naminé." The girl replied shyly.

"She's our cousin!" Kairi declared happily.

"I can see the resemblance." Aqua chortled. "You three all have the same eyes and face shape."

The two sisters giggled as Aqua set them down on the ground. "Nami's going the stay for the whole weekend!" Xion beamed.

"Really?" Aqua smiled encouragingly at Naminé. "Well, the more the merrier! Are you girls hungry?"

"Yeah!" the three girls proclaimed. The four of them walked out of the music room and followed Aqua into the kitchen. Once inside, Kairi and Xion led Naminé to a small table for four near a bay window.

"What do you girls want to eat?" Aqua asked them as they all took their seats.

"I want macaroni and cheese!" Kairi immediately replied.

"Kairi, that's not actual dinner." Aqua said with a raised eyebrow.

"It is too." Kairi said with pursed lips.

"I want a grilled cheese sandwich, please. " Xion said politely.

"That's also not an actual dinner." Aqua giggled. "What about you, Naminé?"

"Um, shrimp Alfredo?" Naminé replied quietly.

"Now that's a real dinner." Aqua smiled approvingly. She got up and walked back to the kitchen and got the staff to commence cooking Naminé's shrimp Alfredo for all four of them.

About three hours later after dinner, the three cousins had taken to playing multiple pretend games among them was being princesses in a far away land, waiting for their princes to come and marry them. Kairi and Xion's bedroom became the setting for their imagined epic tale and Aqua could only wonder what it was that their eyes saw. Through the entire game, Aqua had watched, highly amused at their notions of love. She looked over at a nearby clock and saw that it was 8:30, past the girls' bedtime.

"Girls, it's time for bed!" Aqua announced.

"Aw, already?" Kairi moaned. She took off her pointy glittery princess hat and frowned. "But we had just started playing this game!"

"You girls have been playing non-stop for three whole hours!" Aqua said incredulously.

"But not this one!" Xion said defensively as she took off her plastic crown.

"Tell you what," Aqua said serenely. "If you three get ready for bed quickly, I'll tell you a bedtime story about princesses and their princes."

"Which one?" Naminé said interestedly.

"Go get ready and find out." Aqua smiled. "Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

The three girls ran to the bathroom joined to the twins' room, with Naminé walking back out to grab her bag before heading back to the bathroom. Kairi was the first to walk out dressed in a silky pink gown that had roses decorating the hem. Though as lovely as she looked, she forwent any lady-like behavior and zoomed to her and Xion's large bed and pounced on it.

"Kairi!" Aqua shook her head disapprovingly at the redhead only to have said child laugh at the bluenette's expression.

Xion walked out wearing a purple long sleeved shirt and pants with camellias decorating the center of her shirt. Unlike her energetic sister, Xion did not jump on her bed; rather she climbed up and laid down on her side. This would leave Naminé in the middle of the bed.

Naminé finally walked out of the room with a yellow cloth dog doll in her arms. Her white dress had small blue flowers embroidered all over. Naminé climbed on top of the large bed and frowned when she realized that she would be stuck in the middle.

"Why do I get the middle?" she pouted.

"This is my side." Kairi said from her end.

"And this is mine." Xion said from her end. "So you get the middle."

Naminé crawled over to her designated spot and laid down. Once all three girls were nice and settled, Aqua walked over to them and tucked them underneath the sheet and comforter and sat down on Kairi's end.

"So what's the story called?" Xion asked as she grabbed one of her pillows and fixed it to her liking.

"It doesn't have an actual title." Aqua replied. "It's actually a story that my dad told me when I was little.

"A long time ago, when the world was still blanketed by darkness, three wise kings begged the gods for magic to use and vanquish the darkness. Their wishes were granted and each man was blessed with an ancient weapon called a keyblade. Using their sacred weapons, the three kings sealed the darkness within another realm.

"After the long battle had ended, the three kings united their homelands and called it Kingdom Hearts. Their keyblades vanished, and the kings feared they would be left unprotected against any danger. So the gods assured the kings that they would have a power light to defend them; these lights came in their daughters.

"Each girl carried a pure, holy light in their hearts, and as they grew, their lights became stronger. These lights repelled the darkness, and the three kings made sure that their daughters remained safe."

"So these girls are princesses?" Xion asked.

"Yes, they are." Aqua smiled. "One was called Princess of Heart, the other was Princess of Emotion and the third was the Princess Memory."

"What strange names to give to their daughters." Naminé said pensively.

"I agree with you on that one." Aqua chuckled. "But like all princesses, upon reaching their 18th birthday, they had to get married."

"Do they marry handsome princess?" Kairi asked dreamily, earning giggles from her sister and her cousin.

"I'm getting there, so hold on." Aqua said. "The Princess of Heart was friends with a young prince from another kingdom along with his own best friend, a young master swordsman. While the princess knew that she probably be married to the prince, her heart belonged to the swordsman."

"How romantic!" Kairi sighed.

"I would have fallen in love with the prince." Xion said seriously. "She's going to be married to him anyway."

Aqua smiled. "The young prince became aware of the love between the princess and his best friend, but he too, was in love with the young girl. And he was not willing to lose her without a fight."

The three girls gasped.

"So what happened?" Naminé asked worriedly.

"The prince challenged his best friend to a duel." Aqua said ominously.

"To the death?" Kairi whispered.

"No, not to the death." Aqua reassured them. "Whomever won the duel would be worthy of the princess's hand in marriage."

"So who won?" Naminé asked.

"The swordsman, obviously." Xion said serenely. "He's a _master_ swordsman for a reason."

"Right you are, Xion." Aqua smiled, causing the raven girl to smile proudly. "The swordsman won the duel, and so the prince declined to marry the Princess of Heart. He told her father about his best friend and surprisingly, the king did not object to letting his daughter marry the young man."

"Why would it be a problem anyway?" Naminé frowned. She didn't see what was so wrong about the swordsman marrying a princess.

"Don't you read any normal fairytales, Nami?" Kairi asked incredulously. "Princesses always marry a prince!"

Naminé still didn't see what the problem was, but she kept quiet and let Aqua continue the story.

"What about the other two princesses?" Xion asked eagerly.

"Well, the prince still needed to marry." Aqua said. "So he chose to wed the Princess of Memory."

"Just like that?" Xion asked deflated. "He picked her and that's it?"

"Well…yeah." Aqua said apologetically.

"That's mean." Xion frowned.

"How is it mean?" Kairi asked confusedly. "She gets to marry a prince!"

"Only 'cause he has to." Xion voice held a tinge of sadness. "He's not really in love with her."

The four were silent for a few moments before Aqua cleared her throat and resumed. "Despite how you see things Xion, the princess was truly in love with her husband and he genuinely cared for his wife. They were the first to marry, and his kingdom was united with Kingdom Hearts."

"What about the other princess?" Naminé asked, her eyes lit with curiosity.

Aqua sighed. "The Princess of Emotion was not very lucky. There was an old man in her kingdom, a man who was like a brother to her father. This man was the king's confidant, the king trusted him wholeheartedly and so he saw it fit to marry his only daughter to his friend's eldest grandson. The young man had a twin brother; but as identical as they were in looks, they were as different as night and day. The oldest twin was sweet and friendly, the youngest twin was quiet and serious."

"That sounds like you two." Naminé giggled at her cousins.

"It does?" Xion blinked.

"I'm the funny one and you're the serious one!" Kairi pointed to herself and then her twin.

"I think you're right Naminé." Aqua laughed. "The princess had grown up with the twin brothers; the three were inseparable during their childhood years. But when her father announced that she would marry the oldest twin, the youngest twin separated himself from them."

"Why?" Kairi inquired. "Weren't they friends?"

"Did the young twin fall in love with the princess?" Naminé asked softly.

"He did." Aqua said gently. "And he could not bear to see his brother marry the girl he loved."

"So what happened?" Xion asked anxiously.

"One day, the master swordsman visited their homeland for he was the twins' cousin." Aqua had the smallest of smiles on her face. She waited for the pieces to click insides the girls' brains.

"You mean the swordsman who marries the heart princess?" Kairi asked eagerly.

"The very same!" Aqua chuckled. "The swordsman had come to bring news of his wedding and to invite his cousins and their grandfather, as well as the king and princess of course. But the youngest twin had other plans. He took the princess and left the kingdom with her."

"He kidnapped her?" Kairi gasped.

"It wasn't a kidnapping since she loved him, too." Aqua said wisely. "But the princess was torn between the love she felt for the younger twin and her duty to marry the older twin. She didn't want to hurt either of them, nor did she want to disappoint her father. But yet, she ran away with her beloved.

"The king immediately began searching everywhere for his daughter. The oldest twin was deeply hurt by his brother's betrayal, no matter how much his cousin tried to comfort him."

"So what happened?" Xion asked in a small voice.

"Darkness was reborn." Aqua said solemnly, causing the girls to gasp again. "It slowly grew within the older twin's heart. All the pain caused by his brother and the princess's betrayal kept growing. The old man had always wanted to take over the kingdom for his own, saw an opportunity.

"He called upon the powers of evil and extracted the darkness from within his grandson's heart. This darkness took the shape of a man, with the face of their cousin, the swordsman. "

"How did he do that?" Kairi scowled.

"I'm not sure." Aqua replied. "I think it's because the older twin grew close to his cousin after what his brother had done. This man of darkness was instructed by the old man to destroy Kingdom Hearts."

"But they can't 'cause of the light inside the princesses!" Naminé said happily.

Aqua shook her head. "The man of darkness traveled to the Princess of Heart's home. Since he looked like her beloved, the man used this to his advantage and began killing the people…and the princess."

"Wh-what…?" Naminé's grip on her dog doll Peggy, tightened. On her left Kairi sat up straight, while to Naminé's right Xion covered her mouth in shock.

"With her dead, darkness consumed her land." Aqua said in a hollow voice. "The Princess of Memory and her husband had been visiting, awaiting the wedding of the prince's best friend. Upon hearing of the tragedy, the prince sent away his young wife, fearful for her life. But the man of darkness was one step ahead…"

"He killed the memory princess too?" Xion said tearfully.

"Yes, he did." Aqua said quietly. "This drove her prince husband into despair, for he had learned to truly love her as much as she loved him. He swore to avenge her death, but the darkness was too strong and it overpowered him.

"But then he heard his beloved princess calling him and he sealed the darkness in his own heart; with this act he became resistant to its corroding nature. The prince knew he would not be enough to defeat the man of darkness, so he sailed to find his best friend. He had the unfortunate luck to give the news to his best friend of what had happened."

"He must've been so sad…" Kairi mumbled.

"Of course he was…his bride-to-be had been killed while he had been away." Aqua said sorrowfully. "The swordsman and the prince grieved over the loss of their princesses, but it was then that the older twin realized that the Princess of Emotion was in danger. She was the last pillar of light and she had to be found immediately. But they didn't know where to even begin looking for her."

"So what happened?" Naminé asked fearfully. "Please tell me that the emotion princess lives!"

Aqua looked at the girls hopelessly. "The youngest twin's remorse had gotten to him and the princess's guilt was more than she could bear…so they returned home."

"No!" the three girls chorused.

"Girls, calm down." Aqua scolded them. "The twins decided to put their differences aside for the sake of the princess's safety. But this time it wasn't the man of darkness that took the princess's life, it was the old man. He had decided to take matters into in his own hands after the deaths of the other two princesses.

"With all three princesses dead, the world was plummeted into darkness. The old man, in a foolish move, revealed that it was him that had caused all of the tragedies. The three wise kings once again begged the gods for their help, but this time the gods gave their holy weapons to the four young men.

"Knowing that his darkness was the one who had killed two of the princesses', the oldest twin fought against the man of darkness. But killing his own darkness would mean his death. The youngest twin tried to keep his brother from fighting, but to no avail. The man of darkness longed for battle; he wanted to kill all who opposed him. The swordsman and the prince went after the old man, hoping for a way to stop him.

"The wise kings offered their lives to the gods in exchange for power to seal away the old man's powers. The gods granted their wish and bestowed upon the swordsman, the prince and the youngest twin amulets to contain the old man's powers."

"What about the darkness man?" Kairi hissed.

"The oldest twin killed him." Aqua replied gloomily. "And this in turn brought his own death. The youngest twin pleaded with the gods, but they had already done too much."

"So they let the older twin die?" Naminé whispered sadly.

"The oldest twin had been friends with a magician and another swordsman." Aqua said wistfully. "The magician cast a spell to bring back the older twin, and even though he was alive again, he wouldn't wake up. The darkness was taking over the world, so the gods decided to place all of them in an eternal sleep. That only in dire times would they awaken and they would protect the world."

"Is it true?" Xion asked warily. "Did they ever come back?"

"I don't know." Aqua smiled. "Like I said, it's just a story my dad used to tell me." She looked over at the clock and saw that it was 9:28pm. "Okay, no more stories!"

The three girls groaned in protest as they moved about in the bed.

"No no no." Aqua shook her head as she stood up. "It's way past your bed time." She walked over to the room's door and flicked the lights off. "Good night girls."

"Good night Aqua." The three chorused.

The bluenette smiled and closed the door behind her. Once they heard the door click, Kairi sat up.

"Do you think the story is true?" she asked earnestly.

"It's too sad to be true…" Naminé whispered. "I didn't like the ending."

"Me neither." Xion said sadly. "Just when the prince had fallen in love with the memory princess, she dies."

"Sometimes stories are based on real things." Kairi said bracingly. "Maybe this one is one of them!"

"And maybe it's really just a story." Xion yawned. "Don't think too much about it, Kairi."

"What do you think Nami?" Kairi asked the blonde.

Naminé looked down at her glowing cloth dog doll. "If the story is real…then I hope that they all found happiness in heaven."

She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come, wondering if in her dreams she'd meet a handsome man who would love her for all eternity.

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**Guess who's back? **


	2. What If?

**So this chapter I let unchanged from the original, it still has a purpose to serve. The story afterwards has changed completely from the original concept.**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts, it's characters, terms, or settings. Any original elements are my own creation. **

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Naminé drummed her fingers on her desk as her eyes scanned the stack of books before her. The young woman sighed tiredly as she grabbed the book at the top and began her required reading. She was a museum curator at her twenty four years, a feat which surprised even her. She had achieved her Ph.D. in Ancient Cultural Science as well as a B.A. in Archaic Art. Naminé had finished her graduate school just a few months prior and quickly sought out a job in the Radiant Garden Museum of History and Arts, her favorite place in the world other than The National Library.

Though it was her day off, Naminé found it hard to laze about. So she decided to go to the library and continue reading up on what she considered extended reading. In truth the young woman had always been fascinated with the cultures of old, specifically the evolution of art. Being a naturally gifted artist, Naminé had taken art classes in her schooling years and as such she continued her love of art by taking Historical Art in her college years.

She looked at the book at the very top of the stack and grabbed it: _Kingdoms of Gold, Kingdoms of Yore_ by Ienzo Zexion. Naminé opened the book and commenced her reading, completely unaware of a figure approaching her from behind. She could hear a clinking sound, like that of a set of keys or maybe a loose necklace hitting a hard surface. Whatever the source of the noise was, Naminé wasn't going to tear her attention away from her reading.

That is until she was jolted in her seat when someone let their big brand-name leather purse drop on Naminé's table on the space next to her. Naminé had nearly dropped her book but held onto it at the last second. She looked up to find her cousin Kairi smiling down at her apologetically.

"Sorry." Kairi whispered guiltily. "I didn't mean to scare you, Nami."

Naminé straightened up in her seat and placed her book on the table. Kairi sat down on the empty seat beside her and smiled. Kairi was older than Naminé by only three months, but she was older than her twin sister Xion by five minutes. Naminé had grown up with her cousins due to the proximity of their homes as well as attending the same private schools their entire lives. While Naminé had chosen Ancient History for her careers, Kairi had taken up her degree in Music and Cultural Dancing. Kairi had discovered a natural ability to dance when she was eight and immediately fell in love with the idea of learning as many different dance styles as possible. Not only was Kairi an excellent dancer, but a brilliant singer as well; she was the proud owner of her own music studio that offered both dancing and singing lessons. Xion had decided to take up Archaeology; she had attended a field school for a year so that she could receive her M.A. and a Ph.D. in both Physical Anthropology and Linguistic Anthropology. She also studied vernacular architecture and folklore, having loved the way people lived in the old world.

"What brings you in here?" Naminé asked politely. "You hardly ever come to the library."

"I was looking for you." Kairi said off-handedly. "And since you don't have work today, I figured you'd be here."

Naminé smiled at her own predictability. "Here I am. What's up?"

Kairi reached for her purse and pulled out a three ring notebook. "Read this."

"What is it?" Naminé asked as she took the notebook. She assumed that content of the notebook would be old school notes, but the more she read, the more she realized that it had nothing to do with school. In fact, it seemed more like a story than anything else, a very familiar story.

"Kai…this story…it's Aqua's story." Naminé flipped several pages and saw that there was a timeline. It had clearly been written by Kairi herself, Naminé recognized her cousin's handwriting immediately.

"I was hoping you'd recognize it." Kairi said with an air of excitement. "I've always loved this story…from the very first time Aqua told it to us."

"The ending ruins it for me." Naminé said thoughtfully. "I've never liked the fact that nearly everyone either dies or gets put in an eternal sleep."

"Yeah, but I still love it anyway." Kairi said unabashedly. She dug into her big leather purse again and pulled out her tablet. She began pressing her index finger on the screen, but her oceanic eyes kept glancing over at Naminé.

The blonde narrowed her cerulean eyes at her cousin's behavior. "This is going somewhere, isn't?"

"Whatever do you mean, Naminé?" Kairi said in an innocent tone that didn't fool Naminé. "I was merely showing my notebook to you for nostalgia's sake!"

Naminé raised her eyebrows. "Kairi…I can tell you're dying to ask me something."

"Okay okay!" Kairi huffed. "Do you want to on an expedition with me?"

Whatever Naminé could have fathomed Kairi asking her it certainly wasn't this. "An expedition?"

"Yeah." Kairi said, still attempting at sounding as innocent as possible.

"For what, exactly?" Naminé was starting to become uneasy with every passing second.

Kairi's lips became a thin line and she pointed at her notebook which was still in Naminé's hands.

Naminé looked down at the notebook and her brows furrowed. "…what about this?"

"I've been doing research on it." Kairi said coyly.

Naminé gave Kairi a puzzled look. "How much research can you do on a fairytale? An obscure fairytale at that."

"Some stories have some basis on reality." Kairi said firmly. "I've always believed this story to be one of those cases. Also, I'm curious about its origin, like where did it come from?"

"From Aqua's dad." Naminé stated simply.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Yes, but where did he hear it?"

"Maybe he made it up for his daughter's amusement." Naminé said.

"Look, even though the story is 'fictional' there are a lot of elements that can be connected to the real world." Kairi insisted. She grabbed her tablet and showed it to Naminé; it was displaying a picture of three statues of men. "Okay, in the story there are three kings, right?"

Naminé nodded. "The three wise kings."

Kairi zoomed into the picture, displaying better detail of the stone men. "In history, we're told that the world was founded by the Three Kings of Old: The King of the Northlands, The King of the Middlelands, and The King of the Southlands."

Naminé looked at Kairi wearily. "Kairi-"

"And just like in the story the Three Kings of Old united their kingdoms in peace!" Kairi smiled broadly at Naminé, clearly hoping for her cousin's approval of her theory.

"Kairi, I applaud you for your research." Naminé said slowly. "But the Three Kings of Old didn't unite their kingdoms because they all had daughters."

Kairi's smile fell. "Yes, I know that they formed a treaty after the end of the Keyblade Wars."

"The Keyblade Wars was undoubtedly the darkest time in the world's history."

The two cousins turned around at the sound of Xion's voice. The petite brunette eyed the two girls sitting down; her oceanic eyes, identical like her twin's, then fell on Naminé's stack of books. "I get Naminé being here, but why are you here, Kai?"

"Kairi is trying to convince me that Aqua's story took place in history." Naminé replied.

"Oh not this again." Xion groaned. "Kairi, for the last time, it's just a story."

"There are way too many things in the story that coincide with history." Kairi said defensively.

"Look," Xion exhaled as she walked closer to her sister and cousin. "I've already heard your theories, and while I'll give you the three kings thing, I'll say it again: it's just a story."

"But it's not just the kings!" Kairi argued. "There are other elements in both the story and in history that coincide!"

"Like what?" Xion asked tiredly. It was clear from her voice that she probably knew what was coming.

"The story says that the world was blanketed by darkness, right?" Kairi reached over to Naminé and grabbed her notebook.

"How does that apply to history?" Naminé asked. Her curiosity was genuinely peaked; Kairi's fervent belief in her own words was fueling Naminé's own curiosity.

"Xion said it herself." Kairi smiled. "The Keyblade Wars, the darkest time in history."

Xion looked disbelievingly at Kairi. "Are you serious? How do you get _that_ from what I said?"

"It's a metaphor…" Naminé said thoughtfully. "The darkness in the story refers to how people in that era would perceive the Keyblade Wars as."

"Exactly!" Kairi beamed at Naminé. "Don't you see how it fits, Xio?"

Xion leaned against the edge of the table on Kairi's end. "Okay, I'm not gonna lie, that metaphor works. But what about the rest of the story? How does it all tie in with history?"

"There's no historical evidence that any of the Kings of Old had families, let alone daughters." Naminé said softly.

"And what about the prince in the story?" Xion asked, a slight tint of color appearing in her cheeks. "The story says that he came from another kingdom. And yet, history doesn't mention a fourth kingdom."

Kairi was on her tablet once again. "I've looked into that and I think I know what happened to that small fourth kingdom."

She handed her tablet to her younger twin. Upon looking at the image on the tablet's screen, Xion's brows creased in confusion. "Destiny Islands? How on earth do you see the connection?"

"I read that Destiny Islands was once one huge single island." Kairi explained. "But there was an earthquake about 3,400 years ago that caused the land to split into smaller pieces of land. As the years have gone by, the ocean level rose and most of the smaller islands are now the current ocean floor…all that's left are the main island and a smaller island of the coast."

Naminé was astounded with Kairi's findings. "The Keyblade Wars happened 3,400 years ago."

Xion looked over at Kairi and back at the tablet. "How long have been looking into this? I thought you had only just started obsessing over the story last week when you first brought this up to me."

"I've been researching this for at least about five years now." Kairi said proudly.

"What else have you found?" Naminé asked eagerly.

"Not that much besides what I've told you." Kairi answered. "But we'll find out more once we get out there."

"Out where?" Xion asked.

Kairi grabbed her tablet out her sister's grasp and once she found what she wanted she set the device down on the table for the other two girls to see. "There."

"You can't be serious." Xion said incredulously. "Tell me you're not serious."

"The Keyblade Graveyard?" Naminé said bewilderedly.

"What better place to uncover the truth than here?" Kairi smiled hopefully.

"Okay." Xion said shortly. "Kairi, over the years you've had some weird ideas and you've pulled some crazy stunts before. I've gone along with some of your schemes but not this one."

"But why not?" Kairi asked disappointedly. "I've done all the necessary research!"

"Maybe not." Xion walked over to the table and grabbed Kairi's tablet. "You ever wonder why there haven't been many major discoveries made in the Keyblade Graveyard?" The raven haired twin handed the tablet back to its owner. "The ground there is completely unstable and the weather is unpredictable. There have even been reports of giant tornadoes appearing out of nowhere."

Kairi put the tablet down and looked up at Xion completely unfazed. "A few weather hazards aren't such a big deal. Plus, I'm sure people were exaggerating about the giant tornadoes."

"I think so too." Naminé said. "Climatologically speaking, favorable tornado conditions are when a convective cap is a layer of hot, dry air in the middle layers of the atmosphere above the surface. Often, temperatures increase with height in this layer and relative humidity are extremely low. Warm humid air in the lower layers of the atmosphere near the surface is heated by the sun, but is not allowed to rise and initiate clouds and precipitation because of the hot, dry air above it…"

Naminé stopped speaking when Kairi and Xion's eyebrows began to disappear into their hairlines.

"Okay, thanks for the weather report, Nami." Xion said slowly then turned to face her sister. "And Kairi, I don't think you should take this lightly at all."

"Also, there's only three of us." Naminé said pointedly. "How are we gonna be able to trek a place that hasn't been explored too deeply due to unstable terrain and sudden climatic changes?"

"That is an excellent point." Xion said sharply. "We can't go by ourselves and we certainly don't have the funds to hire anyone let alone get any necessary equipment."

"I can get the funding." Kairi said slyly.

"Bull." Xion narrowed her eyes at Kairi.

"No, seriously." Kairi said collectedly. "I can get us the munny."

Naminé looked down at the notebook on the desk next to her right hand, her eyes fixed on the timeline of events that Kairi had written. Ever since Aqua had told them the story for the first time, Naminé had loved it. But she never liked the ending, for she was much too used to the happier endings of the other fairytales she had read. She looked at the part where the Princess of Emotion eloped with the younger twin.

_Their love must have been something powerful. Even if they did come back, it was only out of guilt…something tells me that they would have lived out the rest of their lives in wedded bliss had they not died._

"If…" Naminé spoke in a soft tone. "If this story really did happen, then I want to know why the story ended the way it did."

"Nami, we know why the story ends." Xion said exasperatedly. "The old man and his darkness lackey killed the three princesses and then the gods put everyone else in eternal sleep."

"I still think it's something worth exploring." Naminé said determinedly.

"So you're coming with me?" Kairi asked excitedly.

Naminé nodded. "Count me in!"

Both cousins turned to look at the obsidian haired twin expectantly. Xion shook her head in disbelief and sighed loudly. But if she was honest with herself, Xion was dying to go. While the story's end was immensely tragic, she had always been enamored with the prince and the Princess of Memory's love. To know that he only married her out of duty, but that he slowly came to return her love…Xion could only imagine the elation the princess must have felt. If they had lived, their love would have grown and in all likelihood, they would've had a family.

But Xion had spent years playing the tomboy to Kairi's girly-girl; Xion had downplayed any attractions that she had to any men, she scoffed at the idea of true love and the entire over romanticized ideals brought by fairytales. But the reality was that she was a hopeless romantic, dreaming of finding her own prince to love her for all of time.

"Please Xion?" Kairi pleaded sweetly.

"I'll go, but only if you can get the funding." Xion said indifferently.

Kairi and Naminé got up from their seats and hugged the dark haired young woman.

"I promise you guys, this will be the adventure of a lifetime!" Kairi beamed.

Kairi reached a hand to grand the handle doorknob, but paused momentarily. _You can do this Kairi, he won't say no._

She inhaled deeply and opened the door; inside the room was a man of sixty years of age; he had a moustache and a goatee, his blond hair was slicked back, prominently displaying his handsome face. He had amber colored eyes that looked orange in the right light. He was wearing a white long sleeved shirt, a dark grey vest over it, a violet ascot, and a wine colored scarf draped over his shoulders.

Lord Ansem the Wise turned around from looking out a window at the sound of his office door closing. "Kairi!" he said pleasantly. "What brings you my office, dear?"

Kairi hugged her grandfather zealously. "Grandpa! Why would you think I want something?"

"You hardly ever venture into my office unless you want something." Ansem said knowingly. "So let's have at it; what is it?"

Kairi frowned and the sighed. "Okay, there is something that I want to ask."

"Ask away, dear girl." Ansem smiled.

"Maybe you should sit down first." Kairi said apprehensively.

"Oh?" Ansem raised an eyebrow as he walked to his leather seat. "This must be quite a favor you're about to ask for."

"Yeah…" Kairi said nervously. She sat down on the chair in front of his desk and gripped the armrests. "I need munny."

"What for?" Ansem asked lightly. "I do believe you should have at least 2,000,000 munny in your bank account."

"I probably do, I haven't checked." Kairi said dismissively. Her oceanic eyes focused on the table as she shakily spoke. "I need munny for an expedition."

"An expedition?" Ansem asked confusedly. "Kairi, you're not an archaeologist, Xion is."

"But you know how shy Xion can be." Kairi laughed anxiously. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "No, this wasn't Xion's idea. It was mine."

Ansem nodded at his oldest granddaughter. "And why do you want to go on an expedition?"

"Because…" Kairi sighed. "When I was little, Aqua told us a story…"

Kairi explained to her grandfather how Aqua's old bedtime story had inspired her to the point of venturing out into the world to seek the origins of the obscure fairytale. She talked about the few pieces of 'evidence' she had connected to the story with history, and how she was eager to discover more.

"My dear, I am quite proud that you've gone to such lengths to try and prove your point." Ansem said calmly. "But I can't possibly let you, your sister and your cousin go alone to some unexplored and abandoned place."

"We won't be going alone." Kairi said decidedly. "I've looked into the best qualified people for this."

"But you say that the Keyblade Graveyard hasn't been explored due to the unstable earth and the unpredictable climate."

"There's a group from Twilight Town who have made a business out giving tours in somewhat dangerous areas." Kairi replied. "They've gone to the Keyblade Graveyard and survived."

"They sound awfully off-putting, if you ask me." Ansem said skeptically. "Perhaps they were just lucky to have survived. I can't quite trust them as a reliable source, let alone trusting them with my only granddaughters' lives."

"But I trust them." Kairi said solemnly. "They've been there; they know how the land there is, they can tell when the weather will change. Grandpa, they camped out in the place for a whole week!"

"A week doesn't really tell me anything, Kairi." Ansem said placidly.

"But they're the only ones who can tell us anything about the terrain." Kairi insisted. "There's no one else alive today that can do that."

"There may be a good reason for that." Ansem said wisely. "Even if you do go, what if all you've been hoping for doesn't come to fruition?"

"I can't think like that." Kairi said steadily. She got up from her seat and walked over to the window; she moved the curtain aside and leaned against the frame. "There's something out there waiting for me to discover…I can almost hear it calling out my name."

Kairi didn't turn around to see her grandfather's expression, but rather she closed her eyes instead. Her mind slowly began to drift away from her current location, to a place she had only ever seen in her dreams.

It was a grand castle, filled with candlelight. She could easily see herself walking down the brightly lit stone hallway, following a cherry colored carpet. The carpet led her to an open spaced room that looked oddly like a throne room. But it was empty save for a faint silhouette of a man; his back was facing her and she was apprehensive about going near him. She could see the man turning around to face her as she approached him, but she could not see his face.

"Kairi." The man said softly; his voice was quite appealing to her, despite the jubilant tone. He held his arm out to her, as if he were asking her to take it. She hesitated for a moment before she took the hand and almost immediately he pulled her close. Kairi wanted to see his face, but it was so blurry. The only thing she managed to clearly see was his sky colored eyes.

"Kairi?"

Her grandfather's voice snapped her out of her daydream and she turned to face him. "Grandpa, I'm really sorry, but this is something I have to do."

Ansem rose from his seat and walked over to her. "Then perhaps I should get in contact with the Land of Departure's government. The Keyblade Graveyard is their property after all."

Kairi smiled gratefully at her grandfather. "Thank you, Grandpa."

"You didn't." Xion said in disbelief.

"Oh but I did!" Kairi said triumphantly. "I told you I'd get the munny for our expedition."

"Where is the munny coming from?" Xion asked suspiciously.

The two girls were in their joined bathroom; when they were little the two girls slept together, not wanting to be alone. And while Xion decided to have a room of her own once she turned ten, the brunette's room was connected to Kairi's via the bathroom. Each girl had her own sink though they had to take turns using the shower and the tub.

"I have connections." Kairi said coyly.

Xion picked up her brush and began brushing away her mid-length tresses. "Alright, now that the munny has been secured we need to assemble a team."

"I got that covered." Kairi said bracingly as she put down her own brush. "So don't you worry your pretty little head, Xio."

"Kairi-"

"Look, I know that you don't trust my judgment." Kairi said solemnly. "I know that in the past I've made some brash decisions, but please trust me on this."

It wasn't that Xion didn't trust her older twin; she was more than confident in her sister's leadership abilities. Kairi, despite having made some poor decisions in her teenage years, was a firmly centered young woman. Despite being prone to youthful idiocy, Xion could easily tell that Kairi was genuinely determined to go on this expedition. Xion knew that if the roles had been reversed, Kairi wouldn't have hesitated to help out.

"Okay." Xion smiled serenely. "I'll leave this to you, Kai."

Kairi smiled radiantly. "I just know we're gonna find something. I can feel it calling me, you know?"

Xion watched as her older twin walked away into her room and closed her bathroom door, leaving Xion inside. Xion braided her hair and then walked into her own room; the raven haired young woman walked over to the bay window and sat down on the cushions. From her view, Xion could see the lush green grass in the moon's light. She had always loved the gardens, she loved running through the pseudo maze.

Xion's mind drifted away to a long garden maze; the green walls decorated with camellias and violets, the green turf beneath her feet felt crisp and dewy. She ran through the maze as fast as she could, a wide smile on her doll-like face. She stopped when she came to a fork in the road; before her where three paths, one that led to a dark path, the other to a brightly lit path, and the middle one. She walked towards the middle path, while it seemed dark like the night sky at first, she could see a faint glowing light near the end. It reminded her of a dawn.

"Xion…" Said deep, soothing voice. Xion looked around for the source of the voice, but there was no one else there with her. "Xion…"

The young woman stepped forward, following the sound of the man's voice. She quickened her pace and soon she was running as fast as she could. The road to dawn was quite long, but she trusted the mysterious voice, something told her to.

When she finally reached the end of the path, she saw a large wall of camellias forming the shape of a man. The man reached out his hand to her, the vines disappearing and forming a pale hand. She took the hand in hers and slowly the rest of the flora gave a cleared physique of a tall, lean man. But yet, his face remained a blur, what she most wanted to see, she couldn't.

Except for his emerald colored eyes… and his soul-piercing gaze that she could clearly see.

Xion snapped out of her reverie and shook her head wildly. _Kairi's right, something out there is calling. _

Naminé was sitting on her bed, her star decorated cell phone laid idly beside her knee. She had just gotten a call from Kairi and received the news; they would be heading out to the Keyblade Graveyard in three months. Naminé couldn't believe it, they really were going to go and search the truth behind an old originless fairytale. Not even in her wildest dreams did Naminé imagine this moment, she had never even thought it a possibility.

"Knock knock." Came a soft voice from her doorway. Naminé looked up to see her mother slowly opening her door. "I noticed you didn't eat supper, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm great." Naminé said breathlessly. "Absolutely great!"

Isabeau raised her eyebrows in interest and sat down next to Naminé. "And why are you feeling so great?"

"Because Kairi, Xion and I are going to go on an expedition." Naminé smiled widely.

"I'm sorry?" Isabeau was clearly not expecting this to be the answer.

Naminé told her mother about the obscure fairytale that Aqua had told them about, down to the last detail. How Kairi had become fueled by her love of Aqua's story and how she had connected bits of the story to actual history. How Kairi had secured funding as well as getting a team and equipment together. The whole time Naminé spoke, Isabeau's confusion diminished, but her concern peaked.

"But…isn't this too sudden?" Isabeau asked worriedly. "I mean, it's only been one day since Kairi shared her theory with you and Xion and you're all already planning a trip?"

"Mom, we're not leaving tomorrow." Naminé said serenely. "We'll be leaving in three months. We have to get a team and equipment set, not to mention we'll need clearing from Land of Departure's government."

Isabeau sighed. "And you're ready for this journey?"

"I am." Naminé said determinedly. "I've always loved the story, and to think that we could find some concrete evidence and not just make conjectures, it's more exciting than I can describe."

"I don't know what to say." Isabeau said truthfully. "On one hand I'm thrilled for you girls, but on the other hand I'm beyond mortified."

"Mom, we'll be okay." Naminé said reassuringly. "Kairi's preparing the best team for this."

"Do you really want to do this?" Isabeau asked gently.

"I do." Naminé replied softly. "I feel like this is something I was born to do…"

"If that's the case," Isabeau leaned in and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Then you have my unflinching support, sweetheart."

"Thank you, Mom." Naminé hugged her mother.

Isabeau returned the embrace and then pulled away. "Get some sleep, I don't want you to burn out your energy, you have work tomorrow."

Naminé giggled. "Okay. Good night, Mom."

Isabeau walked over to Naminé's door and smiled. "Good night, dear."

Naminé heard her door close; she got up and turned off her room light. As soon as it was off, the many glow-in-the-dark stars illuminated her room's walls and ceiling. Naminé walked back to her bed and picked up Peggy, her old dog doll made of cloth. Over the years, Peggy's glow-in-the-dark stars and crescent moons faded and only a few still glowed in the darkness. And even though at twenty four she was too old for toys, Naminé didn't care, she loved her Peggy dearly. Naminé laid down on her bed and looked at the oculus window directly above her.

She could easily see the stars covering the night sky, and she loved seeing them every night. She loved seeing them glowing in all of their glory, and the thought that she would be able to see them much clearer view out in the Keyblade Graveyard excited her even more. Naminé noticed that tonight of all nights, two stars seemed to glow brighter than ever before.

She knew it was impossible to touch the stars, but yet, her body moved of it's own accord; her hands reached upward as if she could reach the two stars. The light of the stars outlined her hands, giving the appearance of larger hands reaching out to her. She could almost feel as those larger hands hold onto her smaller hands and slowly take shape before her eyes.

The two stars became two men of equal height; both equally warm and inviting, the two glowing men moved next to her. Naminé sat up in her bed and marveled at them; though she couldn't make out their faces, the two twin men were smiling at her.

"Naminé." Called the one to her right. His voice was sweet and playful, immediately making her smile.

"Naminé." Said the other to her left. Though the voices were identical, this one's voice was much softer and compelling. The emotion that came out from just simply saying her name made her body flush. She pulled away from the right hand star man and faced this one directly. She desperately wanted to see his face; something told her she knew who he was. She could faintly see a pair of beautiful sky colored eyes, looking right back with as much joy and love as they could muster.

"Naminé?" The other light called her again. She turned around to see the other man, the playfulness of his voice fading. She didn't want him to fade and so she reached out to him. She noticed another pair of sky colored eyes, but these had a child-like innocence as well as faint traces of loneliness.

"Naminé." The other voice called her, more emotion pouring out. Naminé watched as the two men turned back into two bright dots and flew up to the oculus window, taking their place back in the night sky.

Naminé blinked.

But when she opened her eyes, she found the sun's morning rays gently caressing her face.

* * *

**I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible! **


	3. The First Meeting

**Here is the next chapter! I feel like I'm on fire posting all these chapters one after another! **

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, settings or terminology. **

* * *

A young woman stood at the shoreline of a sandy white beach, gazing into beautiful crystalline waters as blue as her own eyes. Her long, obsidian tresses blowing softly in the gentle breeze along with the bottom of her amethyst colored dress. She could feel the coolness of the waves crashing on her bare feet and the moistened sand seeping in between her toes. Though the sun's rays were warm and welcoming, its glare reflected on the water made it hard for her to look forward.

And she wanted to keep her gaze out into the ocean, for even with the sun's reflection in the water, she could make out the silhouette of a tall man with wispy silver hair.

"Xion." He called to her in a soothing voice.

Undeterred by the sun's glare, she took a step forward to where he stood. The more she pressed forward, the more she could see more of him, though his back was facing her. His hair and his dark blue cloak rose into the air as the wind picked up its pace.

"Xion…" he said lovingly, making her heart jump. He turned around to face her completely, and she felt her heart beating erratically. But much to her disappointment, his long bangs completely obscured his face, even with the wind blowing. He held out his right hand to her and whispered, "Come with me."

Xion didn't hesitate and reached out to him, but before her hand met his, an enormous tidal wave formed behind him and crashed over them painfully. She struggled against the opposing current, determined to grab his hand, but he just floated away from her. Xion kept fighting the waters that pushed her away from him, but the water carried her no matter how much she wanted him to help her.

"Wait!" she yelled desperately. "Wait!"

But he drifted away from her, not even struggling against the water, simply letting it carry him away.

"Wait!"

The raven haired young woman lunged forward and ended up falling face first onto the grainy ground beneath her. Her oceanic eyes snapped open and she looked around her tent, taking in every inch of space. She got up from the floor, dusted her pale legs and then sat down on her cot.

_That's the third night in a row that I've had that same dream. _She ran a hand through her short dark hair and let out a shaky sigh. _Who is that guy? Why do I keep seeing him?_

Three months ago, Kairi had stormed into Xion's bedroom excitedly proclaiming that they alongside Naminé would be traveling to the Keyblade Graveyard. The oldest twin said that she was heading out first to help set up the campsite just outside the Keyblade Graveyard itself, an area referred to as the Badlands. Apparently, even the government of The Land of Departure, whom held the entire place under its jurisdiction, was superstitious and afraid of the place. Xion had been quite skeptical that their government would let Kairi pass, but they let her…but only after she showed the necessary documentation proving that she was there for scientific research and not a vacation.

Once Kairi left first, she kept in contact with Xion and Naminé, updating her relatives on the progress about getting stationed in the area and how the crew was starting to show up. Unfortunately for the enthusiastic redhead, she was still several helpers short. Namely she lacked the much needed security as grave robbers were not above from stealing equipment. So Xion got in contact with an old high school buddy of hers, Axel Cross. She knew that he had worked as a security guard at a concert venue and knew how to handle miscreants, so she asked him for the favor. He agreed, but only after Xion promised him quite a hefty sum of munny. Axel had left Radiant Garden about a week ago, after he had quit his job and Kairi called Xion to thank her…multiple times.

But three weeks ago, Kairi was forced to come back to Radiant Garden as her dance studio was left under the care of one of the other instructors. Kairi felt that she had to stay home until she could decide the best option for her beloved dance studio. It was then that Xion decided to head out to the Keyblade Graveyard. In truth, Xion had been dying to go, but she didn't want to seem so obvious. So when the opportunity presented itself, Xion had told Kairi (in very aloof manner) that she would head out to the campsite to make sure things were running smoothly.

And here she was now, sitting on her cot, in her very own tent. Xion was truly impressed with how Kairi had handled every aspect. From getting hikers and manual workers to lend a hand and setting up the various tents for research. But even with all of that, several key crew members were still missing: a field medic and most importantly, a cook. Xion had no clue how the current men and women survived on nothing but beef jerky, stale pretzels and water. She had only been onsite for three days and she was already disgusted. Even though they had a gigantic military-style tent for a mess hall, it wasn't well staffed and most of the food tasted pretty horrible as a head chef was missing. The food sadly went to waste rather quickly even when there were several fans located across the mess hall. All of the electric appliances were able to operate thanks to a gigantic battery-operated generator, which was also the main source for electricity around the entire campsite.

Xion lay down on her cot and covered her face with her arms, her thoughts drifting back to the silver haired man. She had seen him in a daydream once before, but that had been almost three months ago. It wasn't until she had arrived at the campsite that she saw him in her dreams again. She knew it was the same man, even after the first night she had the dream, she knew it was him. But whoever he was, she had no clue. Xion sat up and shook her head wearily; she was just wasting her time trying to analyze who the man was…he was clearly just a figment of her over romanticized imagination. Xion looked up at her tent's entrance when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Xion?" Called a young woman's voice. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm up!" Xion called back. She got off her cot and walked over to her large suitcase that was on the floor and quickly rummaged through it to find a better set of clothes than what she was currently wearing: her bra, a thin camisole and her panties. She found a periwinkle colored tank-top and khaki shorts. Once she was properly dressed, Xion grabbed her socks and desert boots and quickly put them on. She walked over to her tent's entrance and unzipped the flap open; she was greeted by young woman with bright green eyes, brown hair that kind of stuck out a bit on the sides, but yet still long enough to drape down both of her shoulders. "Hi Olette."

"Good morning, Xion!" Olette smiled. It was then that Xion noticed the clear clipboard in Olette's arms holding in a manila folder. "I hope I didn't wake you."

Xion shook her head and smiled back. "No, I woke up on my own."

"Oh good." Olette sighed in relief. "I'm here to tell you that the last of the crew has finally arrived."

"Really? About time." Xion said disapprovingly. "How come they took so long to get here?"

"Well, the field doctor had the most amount of paper work that needed the government's approval." Olette answered. "I have his documentation right here." She pulled the manila folder from the clipboard and handed it to Xion.

Xion took it and began flipping through the documents. "Hmm, highest test scores of his class and a glowing recommendation letter from Lord Eraqus himself. Wow, this Ventus guy sounds like a prodigy."

"He's very modest, too." Olette giggled. "When I praised his accomplishments he blushed and said thank you in such a shy way, that I wanted to hug him."

Xion raised her eyebrows in an amused manner. "Whoa Olette, don't let Hayner hear you saying that."

Olette scoffed. "That husband of mine has nothing to worry about. I was just saying how I found Ventus to be incredibly adorable even though he's twenty five."

Xion shook her head, but laughed anyway. "Who else is here?"

"Oh, Ventus's twin is also here and…" Olette frowned slightly. "You know what? Why don't you come to the main tent and meet them yourself? I have to go do something else at the moment."

"You know, I think I should." Xion smiled and then closed up her tent. She thanked Olette as she watched the lighter haired brunette walk away. Xion trudged her way past several other tents until she reached her destination. It was the second biggest tent on the site next to the mess hall; its main purpose was all of the needed technological tools for the expedition: from various types of recording devices, to cameras, to hand held devices, scanner and computers. Xion moved aside the tent's entry flap and found two blonds looking around at the equipment.

One was looking at the various flash cameras on one rectangular table while the other sat on the chair in front of the computer. The twin that was standing up was wearing a green apple colored tee with light grey shorts, and a black-and-white checkered pattern wrist band.

The other twin was wearing a red tee shirt with black squares on the margin of the sleeves, dark grey colored shorts and a black-and-white checkered pattern wrist band. But this twin's wrist band had the reversed pattern of the other twin.

Xion placed the manila folder on the nearest table and then cleared her throat to announce herself. At once both twins turned to face her with different expressions. The twin with the green shirt smiled at her politely, while the other twin smiled at her fondly; like as if she were a relative that he hadn't seen in a long time. Said twin stood up from his seat and walked over to her, as did the other twin.

"Hello." She said kindly. "I'm Xion Coeur, I'm currently in charge of this campsite."

"Nice to meet you, Xion." Said the twin in the red shirt. "I'm Roxas Gemelo."

"Hi Roxas." As she said his name, Xion couldn't help but feel how strangely familiar his name sounded to her. She turned to face the other twin, whose smile proceeded to look absolutely endearing.

"I'm Ventus Gemelo." He said brightly. "But call me Ven!"

The two sounded so alike, but yet completely different at the same time. "I'm glad to have you on board at last."

"Sorry about that." Ventus said earnestly. "Since Land of Departure's laws are very super strict, we had to get through a lot of paperwork."

"No kidding." Roxas mumbled. "Since I haven't been doing much since I got my degree in Ancient Art, they wanted to make sure I was serious."

"Why is that such a problem?" Xion asked.

"You'd be surprised how many people will just get any degree under the excuse to come here." Roxas said. "But they never do much other than study the weather patterns."

"Oh, so they didn't want another meteorologist." Xion said. "That makes sense. So, you specialize in ancient art?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, all I do is look at a piece and then decide from what era it is. Or if it means something…things like that."

"Guess that means we'll have to put you close to Naminé's tent." Xion mused.

"Who's Naminé?" Ventus asked in a tender voice.

"She's my cousin." Xion answered. "She's a part of this expedition."

"Is she here?" Roxas asked.

"Not at the moment." Xion replied. "But she will be here in three weeks."

Before any of them could say anything further, a distraction appeared in the form of an energetic brunet entering the tent with a big toothy grin. The spirited young man looked a bit like the twins as all three of them shared the same facial structure. The hair was also spiked; however, while the twins' hair was styled to their right side, the chocolate haired youth's hair was spiked in all directions.

"Hi!" the brunet said sheepishly. "I'm Sora Fabre!"

Xion raised her eyebrows in fascination as Sora's energy alone was something she hadn't seen. Not even Kairi was this energetic. "Hi Sora…um, are you here with them?" she pointed at the twins behind her.

"Yeah, they're my cousins." Sora smiled.

"That explains the resemblance." Xion chuckled.

"Ha! I told you guys that we looked related!" Sora said loudly as he moved to his cousins and placed an arm on each of the twins' shoulders.

"Great." Roxas mumbled irritably, though his thinly veiled smile betrayed his tone of voice. "Now I won't be able to deny any familial ties to you."

"Gee, thanks Roxas." Sora said dryly. "I can feel the love."

"Aw, you know that I'll always be proud to have you as my cousin, Sora." Ventus said brightly.

"And that Ven, is why you're the cool twin." Sora said bracingly.

Roxas shook his head. "God, why me?"

Xion giggled. "You guys remind me a lot of myself, my sister and my cousin."

The three cousins smiled at her; it was clear that they understood what she meant, though Sora's expression did light up with curiosity.

"You have a sister and a cousin?" he asked. "Are they around?"

"No, but they'll be here in three weeks." Xion replied. "They just have some things to do before they get here. So until then Kairi put me in charge."

"Kairi? Who's that?" Sora tilted his head.

"Oh, that's my sister and the leader of this expedition." Xion answered. "So um, Sora, what is your field of expertise?"

"Oh, I'm a fencing instructor." Sora said proudly.

"Wow, that's really cool and all…but I don't we'll be getting into any sword fights, to be honest." Xion said apologetically.

"I hope not." Sora chuckled. "But I can still be of some service."

"How so?" Xion asked; she felt like she was being a bit mean to him, but she just didn't want to hire someone that would be a burden rather than a helper.

"Whatever you need help with, I'm more than willing to lend a hand!" Sora replied simply.

"Hmm…" Xion hummed thoughtfully. "We will need extra hands around, but I'll have to wait and see what Kairi says."

"I hope she'll say yes." Sora said excitedly. "Oh, before I forget, Riku needs help bringing down the stuff from the truck."

"Who's Riku?" Xion asked him.

"Oh, he's my best friend." Sora answered.

Xion gave Sora an uncertain look; while it was nice of Sora's best friend to lend a hand, Xion wasn't so sure that it would be a good idea having another guy around for no real reason.

"What Sora's forgotten to mention is that Riku is actually the chef that you guys hired." Roxas said, giving his cousin a dope slap.

"He is?" Xion felt inward relief, though she remained composed outwardly.

"Yeah, mainly that." Sora said sheepishly. "Anyways, we should go help him out."

"Is he still outside by the truck?" Ventus asked.

"Yup!" Sora answered and then he clapped both of his cousins on the back. "Come on guys!"

He was the first of the three to walk out of the tent, with Ventus right behind him. Roxas shook his head and gave Xion a resigned look. The two of them ended up smiling at each other before they walked out of the tent.

"So am I to assume that this chef guy is another relative of yours?" Xion chuckled.

"Actually, no." Roxas replied. "Riku isn't related to anyone of us. He's Sora's best friend, though."

"Ah, I see." She said. Xion noticed how Roxas was looking at her in a rather expectant manner, like he was waiting for her to say something else. "What?"

"Nothing." Roxas replied instantly. He came to a sudden halt when he saw a tall, lanky red haired man was looking over at Sora and Ventus walking over to a silver colored truck.

"Axel, don't just stand there!" Xion chided. "Go give them a hand!"

"Nah, I don't think I want to actually." Axel replied lazily. "I like my current spot, thank you." The redhead turned around with an amused eyebrow as he looked at the blond next to her. "Roxas?"

"Axel, long time no see!" Roxas said jubilantly as they shook hands and one armed hugged each other.

"You guys know each other?" Xion asked amusedly. The only friend of Axel's that Xion had ever met was some guy named Isa…or was it Saïx? Either way, the blue haired man was one of the most unpleasant human beings that Xion had ever met.

"Yeah, Roxas and I go way back." Axel said cheekily. "Think thousands of years back."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Yes, because we look absolutely old and decrepit."

"You guys found the fountain of youth, didn't you?" Xion said teasingly. "Care to share?"

"Not likely, Xion-kins." Axel said, as he placed an arm on the top of her head, effectively using her as an arm rest. "So Roxas, where'd you go after high school? I haven't seen you since graduation."

"Um, when you were a senior, I was a sophomore." Roxas said dryly. "So when you graduated, I still had two more years to go through."

"Oh yeah, huh?" Axel chuckled, whether at his own memory lapse or because Xion moved away from him, she wasn't sure. "So are you some kind of scientist? You must be if you're here."

"Well, I studied Ancient Art." Roxas replied offhandedly.

"Is that where you look at old ass doodles and try to figure out what they mean?" Axel asked and then he looked over at Xion. "Isn't that what Naminé does too?"

Xion nodded. "For the record, they're not 'old ass doodles', they're archaic pieces of visual art."

"And I don't look at actual drawings," Roxas explained. "What I do is look at pieces of ceramics, tile or fabrics to determine in what era they were made."

"It's the same thing, Roxas." Axel deadpanned.

"It really isn't." Roxas insisted. "Anyways, we can catch up later; I gotta go help out my brother and my cousin."

And with that, Roxas walked past Xion and Axel. Xion crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Axel. "Why aren't you helping them out?"

"Because I'm head of security, not a moving service." Axel scoffed.

"Axel, come on." Xion frowned.

"Tell you what," Axel said slowly. "How about I go to the mess hall and see if there is space for their stuff. It seems that that Riku guy brought something Kairi forgot to add when she called up the cooking service."

"Which is?" Xion asked.

"A fridge." Axel replied. "This explains why we can't eat anything other than beef jerky and pretzels. Everything else will just go to waste in this damn heat."

"Oh okay." Xion said reasonably. "But once you do that, you're gonna come back out here and help them out, right?"

"Yes, yes." Axel said offhandedly. "I'll be back in a bit."

Axel walked in the opposite direction that Roxas had walked. Xion instead went in Roxas's direction, stopping only when she saw Roxas, Ventus and Sora unloading various items from the silver Titan truck. She could tell that there was another person standing in the back of the truck, but she couldn't see much.

Sora waved at her upon seeing her and then turned to his right side. "Hey Riku!" he called. "Get down there and say hi to the boss!"

Xion shook her head, though she gave Sora an appreciative smile. _I'm only the 'boss' until Kairi comes back._

She heard movement from the trunk's back when a tall, handsome man suddenly jumped down. He had long, flowing silver hair that reached past his shoulders. Xion felt sense of overwhelming apprehension as he made his way towards her. His blue v-neck shirt was extremely form-fitting; she could easily see every one of his muscles with each movement he made. She tried her hardest to not let her eyes wander down to his jeans…but that failed, though she quickly looked right back at his face.

He removed his sunglasses and Xion was granted the view of his eyes; they were the most breathtaking shade of green she had ever seen, greener than the grassy fields of Radiant Garden. But yet, they also had a tint of cyan on the outer borders of the iris. She felt completely entranced by his viridian orbs; it was like a magnetic pull was drawing her in, rendering her immobile.

"Riku Prionsa." He said in a low, smooth voice.

"X-Xion Coeur." She said breathlessly. "…have we met before?"

_What is wrong with you? You just met the guy! _

Riku raised a skeptic eyebrow. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Right, of course not." She said shakily. "You just seemed kinda familiar, that's all."

Riku shrugged. "Maybe we have met before, we just don't remember."

"Maybe." Xion said thoughtfully. "So um, Sora said that you're the cook?"

"I brought all of my paperwork in case you need to see it." He told her.

Xion nodded. "I'll have to take a look to make sure everything is in order."

Roxas walked over to the truck's side and opened the passenger's door; he pulled out a leather briefcase and handed it to her. "Here Xion, otherwise, we'll probably forget to give this to you later."

"Thanks Roxas." Xion smiled, glad to not be looking at Riku's perfect face. She grabbed the briefcase and then looked over at Sora, who was handing Ventus a suitcase from the back of the silver truck. "Sora, I'll look over your papers and then see where you'll be until Kairi gets back!"

"Okay!" he yelled back as he gave Ventus a large cardboard box.

Ventus placed the large cardboard box down on the ground and then walked over to her. "Where will Roxas and I be stationed?"

"Hmm…"Xion hummed thoughtfully. "Well, Roxas can set his stuff in the research tent and you can set up your things anywhere you like, Ventus."

"Please, just Ven." He chuckled.

"Right, Ven." Xion giggled. "Actually, Hayner had set up a tent with the first-aid kit. You can take over that one."

"Where is that at?" Ven asked.

"Oh, it's the tent right before all of the housing tents." She then pointed in the direction she was talking about. "It's that way, you can't miss it."

"Okay, got it!" Ven said with child-like enthusiasm.

Xion let the four men continue bringing their belongings down from the back of the truck. She was quite impressed with all the things that they managed to bring, though admittedly it wasn't much in comparison to all the things that Hayner, Pence, and Olette had managed to get for the expedition: all the construction machines, the tents, the electronic equipment, _the permits,_ everything else.

Xion walked away back to the main tent with the briefcase Roxas had given her firmly held in her left hand. Once inside the tent she walked over to table where Ven's file folder was laying. She pulled the chair out and then sat down; she pulled the manila folder closer to her and then opened the briefcase. She pulled out the folders inside the briefcase and was rather surprised to find that each file had been named with a tag label. She began reading the papers inside the files, looking through all of the diplomas, degree certifications, resumes, school transcripts and various report cards.

Roxas and Ven were natively born in Twilight Town, but had received citizenship from Land of Departure at a young age, while Sora and Riku were both born on Destiny Islands. All of them, save for Sora, had attended well-known and prestigious schools throughout their schooling years. Sora had apparently decided to skip college altogether in favor of his fencing lessons, which led to him becoming an instructor. Sora certainly had more jobs on his resume than Riku or his cousins combined; clearly Sora was a natural helper than a scholar. Riku for his part was class valedictorian, having the best grades in his graduating class. Upon his high school graduation, Riku attended a four year college before going to culinary school.

Xion looked at the picture of Riku on his high school transcript; there was something about the silveret that seemed eerily familiar, even though she had just met him. His eyes more than anything else were affecting her, even when she was looking at a picture of him, she still felt like he was looking directly into her soul. She felt her cheeks heating up under his photographed gaze with every second she looked at it, so she put away Riku's file and then grabbed Ven's, placing all four files inside the briefcase.

"Xion." A voice called out to her.

She stopped what she was doing and gasped softly. _That voice sounds just like the man from my dreams…but that can't be! I'm not even asleep!_

She looked around the tent to make sure no one else had walked in while she was busy reading the files. But there really wasn't anyone else; she was completely alone.

"Xion?" the voice asked in a slighter louder voice, startling her. "Where are you?"

The voice sounded like it was coming from right outside the tent. She hesitated for a moment, mentally arguing with herself for even believing the possibility that the man from her dreams could be real. She shook her head and moved the entrance flap aside; she closed her eyes the moment that the sun's light hit her eyes. She was about to raise her arms to block out the harsh rays, when a man's shadow covered her.

"Is that better?" asked the man in a soft, soothing voice.

Xion slowly opened her oceanic colored eyes; the first thing she found was a fit, muscular torso, with a few strands of silver hair at the base of the neck. It wasn't long before her eyes adjusted and she was finally able to see Riku clearly.

"Riku?" she said confusedly. "Was that you calling me?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I came to tell you that all of the kitchen supplies are all set."

"Oh okay." She murmured. "Wow, that was quick."

Riku raised an amused eyebrow. "If by quick you mean the last 45 minutes, then yes, it was really quick."

"45 minutes?" Xion asked in genuine surprise; she had assumed that at least 10 minutes had passed, 15 at most. "How did I lose track of time?"

"It happens to all of us." Riku shrugged. "Anyways, do we set up our tents in the same area as the rest or…?"

"Yeah, just set them up where the others are." She replied. "Do you know where the tents are?"

Riku turned around, but didn't move from his place so that he still covered Xion from the sun's rays. "I'm assuming it's that area where all the other tents are, right?"

"Yeah." Xion said. "Tell you what, why don't I show you?"

Riku looked back at her and smiled; an act that made him look even more handsome. "That'd be great."

She hastily smiled and then began walking towards the area in question, with Riku walking right behind her. As the two of them walked past the main research tent, Riku picked up his walking pace so that he was closer to Xion. An act that put her on edge, but she did her best to remain outwardly composed.

"So Roxas tells me that you're out here doing an excavation of some kind?" Riku asked idly.

"Yes." Xion answered.

"Why here?" the levels of Riku's curiosity seemed to rise. "Isn't this place dangerous?"

"I'll admit that I have my doubts about this." Xion said succinctly. "This whole land has remained unexplored for many years for various legitimately concerning reasons."

"You mean the many reported crazy, giant tornadoes?" Riku chuckled. The two had finally reached the area where there were several smaller sized tents.

"Besides those." Xion answered. "The terrain is unstable, there's possibility of grave robbers…"

"With all those hazards, why are you here?" Riku stopped walking and looked at her pointedly.

Xion herself stopped walking and turned to look at Riku. That proved to be a difficult task since he was much taller than she was and the sun's light was right in her face. But just like before, he stood right in front of her to block out the sun.

"My sister, my cousin and I believe that there's something here." She said firmly.

"Like what?" His voice indicated that he was genuinely interested.

Xion looked at him directly in his eyes. "That…I honestly don't know."

Riku looked confused. "So you're all looking for something…you just don't know what."

Xion sighed. "I know that as researchers that's a really weak motive. But ever since we were little the three of us have been fascinated by…history."

She had almost blurted out the words 'a story'.

_That'll go over very well. What better reassurance to your team than to tell them that the real reason we're all here is because of an obscure fairytale that Aqua told us. _

"You mean the Keyblade Wars?" Riku asked. "That's the only connection that this place has to history."

_Perfect!_

"We want to know what really happened." Xion said steadily. "What truly led to the Keyblade Wars."

Riku crossed his arms. "Be careful what you wish for."

Xion looked at him with uncertainty. "Why do you say that?"

"…what if the answer is something you'd rather not know?" he said seriously.

_What does he mean by that? _

"Riku!"

The two turned around to find Sora jogging towards them, his arms waving around enthusiastically.

"Did you set up our tent?" Riku asked his best friend. The silver haired young man walked past her, but not before he ruffled her short raven hair.

Xion's heart began to race, her face heating up as she walked Riku meet Sora halfway.

"Yup, everything's all set!" Sora replied. "I told you I could do it."

"Well excuse me for being skeptical." Riku said with a laugh. "The last time you tried to set up a tent, you failed miserably."

"That was a lifetime ago!" Sora said defensively. "Jeez, why can't you ever forget about that stuff?"

"Because someone has to remind you of them." Riku said simply.

Sora crossed his arms. "I'd rather not be reminded at all."

"Tough luck, buddy." Riku said as he slapped Sora's arm.

"Ow!" Sora snapped. "That hurt, you jerk!"

Xion couldn't help but laugh during their exchange. The two guys looked at her and smiled at her. Sora then indicated to the two of them where he had set up his and Riku's tent. It was a relatively larger tent than the rest in the area, certainly big enough for two people to fit comfortably.

"Allow me to give you the grand tour!" Sora said to Xion.

Riku looked at Sora warily. "Are you sure about that? What if you forgot to put away your underwear?"

"My underwear are all safely put away, thank you very much." Sora said playfully. "Your underwear on the other hand…they're all over the place."

"Great." Riku grumbled and Xion laughed.

The three of them walked towards the guys' tent with Sora leading the way. "Well, here we are!" Sora said. "Home sweet home."

He moved the entry flap to the side so that Xion stepped inside. The tent was certainly big enough for two fully grown men to fit comfortably without it feeling cramped. Xion noticed how at the very back of the tent several boxes were neatly stacked on top of another. She assumed that those boxes contained their clothes and toiletries. She looked over at her left side and saw two cots; it was quite obvious which one belonged to Sora and which one was Riku's: one had a red pillow and the other had a blue pillow.

_Kinda like how Kairi has pink pillows and I have purple ones. _She couldn't help but smile at that thought.

"What do you think, Xion?" Riku asked.

Xion turned to look at him and smiled. "It's cozy, that's for sure."

"Right?" Sora said proudly. "I told you I'd get it done!"

"I gotta say, I'm genuinely impressed." Riku said appreciatively. He clapped his best friend's back as he made his way to his cot. He passed right by Xion and for one crazy moment her vision blurred.

Instead of seeing the two cots and the inside of the tent, Xion clearly saw Riku's back, but everything else was the same beach she had seen in her dreams. Right down to the huge tidal wave, Riku's movements slowing down as he began to turn.

But in the blink of an eye she was back in their tent, and Riku was moving at a normal speed as he laid down on his cot.

"I gotta head out guys." Xion said steadily. Her heart was hammering nervously, though she somehow managed to remain composed on the outside. "I gotta let Kairi know that you guys are her."

"Okay!" Sora beamed. "When's she getting here?"

"She'll be here in three weeks along with our cousin Naminé." Xion answered as she began walking away. "Thanks for the tour!"

"Don't be a stranger!" Sora said loudly. "Come back and visit us!"

Xion laughed and turned to look at Sora. "I won't!"

"Sora, we'll see her all the time." Riku said, his gaze meeting hers. "We work here now."

Xion nodded and then looked directly at Riku. "That reminds me, I know you guys must be tired from traveling, but dinner's at 4pm."

Riku sat up straight. "What time is it now?"

Sora pulled out a cell phone from one of his shorts pocket. "It's 12:30pm"

"Oh okay." Riku said lightly. "Don't worry Xion, I'll have dinner ready by that time."

"Thank you, Riku." She said gratefully. "I'll see you guys later then."

"Bye Xion!" Sora smiled broadly.

"See you." Riku said pleasantly.

She waved at the two of them before she walked out into the burning light of the sun. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the brightness of her surroundings but she walked forward nonetheless.

_What's happening to me? Is it the heat getting to me? Maybe I should go ask Ventus about it._

She turned to her right and walked to an incredibly large tent that had a red cross on top of the tent. She moved one of the two flaps and slowly made her way inside. "Hello?"

She stopped walking when she got to a rectangular table that had several open boxes of medical supplies like bandages, gauzes, cotton balls and other things. She looked around her and saw that Ventus hadn't settled in; there were several unopened boxes behind the table, some were even labeled 'Roxas's stuff' in very horrible handwriting.

"Hello?" she asked a little louder this time. "Is anyone here?"

"I am." Came a reply from the back of the tent.

Xion looked over and saw one of the two twins walking towards her holding a large cardboard box in his arms. He placed it on top of the table and smiled at her warmly.

"What can I do for you?" Roxas asked.

"I wanted to see how you guys were doing." Xion replied.

"Well, we're still not done unpacking." Roxas jerked his head in the direction of the unopened boxes. "But that's mostly because Ven packed an entire hospital."

Xion laughed. "I see what you mean."

Roxas grabbed a knife from the table and cut the tape on the box. Xion noticed that he kept glancing at her as he began to pull out small pill cases from the box.

"Is your brother here?" she finally asked. Xion realized that her voice sounded more anxious than she would've liked.

"Yeah." Roxas walked a little towards the back of the tent and yelled. "Ven, Xion's looking for you!"

Xion heard some rustling from the back of the tent and then Ventus came bustling in clumsily. He smiled at Roxas then turned his gaze to Xion and smiled sweetly at her.

"Hi Xion!" Ventus said brightly. "How may I help you?"

"Um…" Xion nervously played around with the longest strands of hair by her jawline. "I was wondering if…it's possible to suffer heat hallucinations…"

Both Roxas and Ventus looked at her concernedly. Ventus walked around the desk and grabbed two stepping stools. He placed them down on the floor, indicating for Xion to have a seat.

"Have you been drinking a lot of water?" Ventus asked as she sat down. He quickly looked over at Roxas and his twin rapidly dashed out of the tent.

"Yeah, I've been drinking more water than usual because I'm out here." She replied.

"Okay." Ventus said thoughtfully. "What exactly is it that you're seeing?"

Xion bit her lower lip. She honestly had no idea how she was gonna explain it to him that what she was constantly seeing was flashes of her dream. A dream that kept appearing every night ever since she first arrived at the campsite.

"I…don't even know how to explain it." She said quietly. "I see a giant wave…it swallows me and this other person…"

Roxas returned with an ice cold water bottle and gave it to Xion. "A wave?"

"Thanks." She said as she took the water bottle from Roxas. "I'm at a beach and then the wave just appears and crashes over me and this guy that's there in the middle of the ocean for some reason."

She lowered her head. _Oh god, this sounds worse when I say it out loud._

"You know what?" she said as she suddenly stood up. "I'm just stressed. Heat, plus stress and lack of sleep are obviously getting to me. I'm so sorry I bugged you guys."

"No, not at all." Roxas said, his brows creasing in confusion.

"I'm hoping that you'll come to me when you're not feeling well from now." Ventus said tenderly as he stood up. "I am a doctor after all."

"Will do." Xion smiled. "I have to get back and file away some papers. I also have to let my sister Kairi know that you guys are all here."

"You said that Kairi will be here in three weeks, right?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, her and our cousin Naminé." Xion answered. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye!" Ventus smiled.

"Bye Xion!" Roxas said.

The moment that Xion opened the tent's flap her vision blurred again. The colors all swirled around her making her blink rapidly. She staggered a bit, unable to gain steady footing. Hey eyes caught a faint silhouette walking towards her. It was clearly a man, he wasn't much taller than her but he was built. He walked closer to her and then there was nothing but darkness surrounding her.

"_Hello, your highness."_

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll be back again real soon! Bye! **


	4. The Wind Carries The Words of the Stars

**Here is another chapter just in time for the weekend! I hope you enjoy it!**

**I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its character, settings or terminology. **

* * *

Kairi rubbed her temples and sighed tiredly. She was too tired to be doing any of this at this hour. She glanced over at the small clock on her desk and groaned loudly; it was barely 8:45pm. She honestly felt like it was at least 1am. But no, it wasn't even 9 yet. She looked down at the stack of papers on her desk directly below her. She had finally managed to find a buyer for her dance studio and though she was sad that she had worked so hard to get it in the first place, she now had to sell it.

But there was a much higher calling waiting for her in the Keyblade Graveyard. And with that incentive fresh in her mind, Kairi gathered her focus and resumed reading the stack of papers. She honestly couldn't recall any other time in her life where she has signed her name so many times. It had come to the point where her hand was seriously starting to hurt her, she had to keep shaking her hand several times to loosened it up.

But she managed to get through it all. She looked at the clock again and was quite happy to see that it was now 9:30pm. She stood up from her chair and stretched, squeezing her eyes shut while inhaling deeply. Her eyes opened and she looked around at her office; it was actually her father's old office but after he passed away many years ago Kairi and Xion both made use of it. The walls were decorated with old pictures of the two sisters and their parents. Kairi had inherited her mother's crimson tresses and Xion had her father's raven colored hair. But both girls had their father's blue eyes, the same blue eyes he shared with his sister Isabeau, Naminé's mother. Kairi saw one particular picture in which all three girls were in princess costumes and smiled warmly.

Ever since the first time Aqua had told them that old story, the three cousins would pretend that they were the three princesses. And now that story was leading them to the adventure of a lifetime.

Kairi was eager to meet the four new crew members that had at long last arrived. Xion had called her about three days previously and had informed Kairi of the new arrivals. Xion had even scanned and emailed the new members' paper work to Kairi.

Ventus Gemelo was the field medic that they absolutely needed for this expedition. He was extremely well qualified and even had a glowing letter of recommendation from none other than Lord Eraqus Enix. Lord Eraqus was not only the closest thing that the Land of Departure had to a king, but Lord Eraqus was a close friend of the girls' grandfather: Lord Ansem the Wise. The two men had been friends for a long time; Kairi didn't know how long exactly, but whenever she asked her grandfather, he'd reply, "We've known each other since the dawn of time."

So the fact that Ventus was able to have such a letter was the most impressive aspect of Ventus' documentation. Sure, his grades were amazing, but knowing that Lord Eraqus had personally signed that letter meant that Ventus had connections to Lord Eraqus.

Roxas Gemelo was obviously Ventus' twin; Xion had told Kairi via phone call that Roxas was the younger of the two. Roxas' resume didn't have a letter of recommendation, but he nonetheless had studied Ancient Art and received his B.A. His grades were very impressive as well, he certainly had pulled his weight through his schooling years.

Next was Riku Prionsa, their newly arrived chef. Riku had by far attended the most prestigious schools in the world. From a very selective primary school, private middle school and high school, to an extremely expensive university where only legacies were able to enroll. With all of that schooling, Kairi was surprised that Riku ended up being a chef. Especially with his grades.

Lastly there was Sora Fabre. He certainly stood out from the other three men. Kairi remembered that Xion had told her that Sora, Roxas and Ventus were cousins. It seemed like Sora didn't follow his cousins' educational path. Sora finished high school with above average grades and that was the last school he attended. What he did have however, was a certification in fencing. In fact, he even had an instructor's license. And just like Kairi, Sora owned his very own teaching school and gave lessons.

Xion had told Kairi that while she had initially been reluctant to have Sora around, the young man was one of the most helpful people that Xion had ever met. That whenever she needed someone to go into town to get something, Sora would jump at the chance. It seemed to Xion that Sora wanted to prove that he was worth keeping around.

And with that kind of contributing attitude, Kairi didn't see why he shouldn't stick around. The more the merrier and the faster things would get done. Hopefully.

Kairi's cellphone vibrated loudly from the inside of her large purse. She fished it out and saw that Naminé was the one calling.

"Hey Nami!" Kairi greeted.

"I'm all set to go!" Naminé said excitedly.

"Wait, what?" Kairi beamed. "Seriously?!"

"I just got a call from the Land of Departure's Immigration Offices!" Naminé replied brightly. Kairi could hear shuffling noises coming from Naminé's end. "I'm cleared so I can leave as soon as possible!"

"That's awesome!" Kairi heard the noises getting louder and raised a curious eyebrow. "What's all that noise I hear?"

"I'm packing my things." Naminé said casually.

"Already?" Kairi gasped. "I thought you were leaving in two weeks! With me!"

"And I was!" Naminé said apologetically. "But…oh Kai, I really can't wait to go!"

Kairi laughed. "Oh I know!"

"Please don't be mad at me!" Naminé said hopefully.

"Of course I'm not mad at you!" Kairi smiled. "I totally understand. I'm gonna bolt out of here the moment I can!"

"Did you get a call from Xion?" Naminé asked. Kairi could hear the unmistakable sound of a zipper from Naminé's end. "Did she tell you about the new crew members?"

"Yup!" Kairi answered as she looked back down at the guys' papers. "I got all of their documents sitting on my desk right in front of me."

"Xion told me a little about them, but couldn't go into too much detail since she had some things to do." Naminé said pensively. "She said that one of the guys studied Ancient Art or something like that?"

"Yeah, one of them did." Kairi told her cousin. "I can't wait to meet these guys! The way that Xion talked about them makes them seem like a really fun group to be around!"

"Looks like I'll get to meet them before you." Naminé giggled.

Kairi pouted. "No fair."

Naminé laughed. "I'll let you know if they're cute!"

"You know me too well, Nami." Kairi chuckled.

"Why do you think I said that?" Naminé said teasingly. "Anyways, I called you to let you know that I'm all set to go."

"When are you leaving?" Kairi asked.

"Tomorrow!" it was obvious that Naminé was absolutely thrilled to go.

"Really? Tomorrow?" Kairi felt like she really shouldn't be all that surprised that Naminé had booked the first flight out of Radian Garden. "What time are you leaving?"

"My flight leaves at around 10am." Naminé answered. "But with the different time zones I probably won't be at the Land of Departure until…maybe 6pm."

"Ugh." Kairi groaned tiredly. "I hate that they're three hours ahead of us."

"When I talked to Xion about that, she said that she felt the effects of jetlag for three and half days." Naminé said. "She said she had a hard time getting much sleep but she says that she's used to it now."

"Lucky her." Kairi grumbled. "When I was out there I kept getting nightmares and headaches the whole two weeks. "

"Well…hopefully this whole thing will worth the jetlag." Naminé sighed.

"It had better be." Kairi chuckled. "Well, I'll let you finish packing. I gotta finish some paperwork over here."

"Okay." Naminé said brightly. "The next time we see each other all three of us will be out there!"

"I know!" Kairi couldn't help the squeal that came out of her. "Night night Nami!"

"Night night Kai!" Naminé giggled before she hung up.

Kairi put her phone down on her desk and looked back at the stack of papers waiting for her. She grabbed the documents that belonged to her four new crew members and carefully paced them inside a red, three-ring binder. She was about to place the red binder inside her purse when one of the papers came gliding out, landing gracefully on the carpeted floor. Kairi bent down to pick it up and saw that it was Sora's high school transcript. She grabbed it and looked at Sora's name.

_Sora…_

"_Kairi!" _

The auburn haired young woman turned around at the sound of her name; it was coming from the doorway.

"Hello?" she asked into the empty hallway. "Hello?"

"_Maybe…I never gave you a real gift…"_

Kairi's heart beat increased as she looked around wildly for the source of the voice.

"_I'm sorry."_

A sudden smell engulfed her senses and she could tell that it was coming from upstairs. Kairi ran as fast as she could to try and pinpoint its exact location. It was clearly a very floral scent, but which flower it was, she didn't know.

"_Did I ever tell you about the Paopu fruits back home?" _

"Who's there?!" Kairi asked frantically. "Breaking and entering is illegal!"

"_Who are you calling a lazy bum?"_

Suddenly her bedroom door opened; a faint light was emanating from inside.

Kairi tentatively walked towards her bedroom; the jovial voice kept talking only it became harder for her to understand as she got closer to her room. When she got to the door frame she dropped Sora's paper and gasped.

In the very center of her room were the blurry figures of a young man cradling a young woman in his arms. He had stopped talking and in its place were the unmistakable sounds of him crying.

"_Kairi! Kairi, open your eyes!"_

Kairi felt her knees weaken; her heart began to ache as she fell to the soft carpeted floor.

"_Please…please open your eyes. Don't leave me, I beg you."_

Her own eyes swelled with tears. Kairi felt a strong urge to comfort this man, how she didn't know. "Who…?"

"_I love you…don't leave me without you."_

And then, without warning, the young man let out a howl of pain. It tore Kairi from the inside, her tears cascading down her beautiful face. She found the strength to walk towards him, stumbling as she moved forward. But the moment she tried to place her hand on his shoulder, the two figures vanished.

Kairi stood there in the darkness of her room, shaking and breathing heavily. She closed her eyes and collapsed onto the floor, letting sleep carry her away.

* * *

Naminé leaned back against the comfortable first class seat and sighed happily. She was barely able to contain her excitement but was doing her best to remain outwardly composed. The flight was about roughly about four hours long, so she decided that the best way for time to pass faster was for her to catch up on her sleep. She had texted Kairi before she boarded the plane but refrained from telling Xion at all. She wanted to surprise her cousin, especially since Xion believed that Naminé wouldn't be arriving for another two weeks.

Naminé sighed contentedly as her eyes took in the sight of the clouds outside her oval shaped window. The sky was the most vibrant shade of blue she had ever seen and that alone made Naminé's smile grow wider. She placed her purse on the small space between the window and her, she made sure that her purse was hidden from other peoples' view and then made herself even more comfortable.

Her eyes fluttered to a close and she felt sleep slowly blanket her.

_**Naminé stood in the middle of a vast flower field, the wind gently caressing her flaxen hair. The sky above her swirled around like watercolors being lightly applied with a delicate stroke. Various colored petals danced around in the air, some even seemed to melt into her white dress. Naminé's dress was absolutely beautiful; it was sleeveless and she had light blue ribbons intersecting in the bodice, much like a corset. The skirt itself was very light and easily rose in the air and somehow this fascinated her. **_

_**While Naminé continued to admire her dress, she failed to notice that there were two small boys looking at her. She looked up when she heard the flowers rustle and smiled at them. **_

_**Their faces were quite blurry, but yet she could tell that they were smiling back at her. **_

"_**Hi!" Naminé said warmly. **_

"_**Hi!" said the boy to the left. **_

"_**Hi." Said the boy to the right. **_

_**Naminé giggled. "What are your names?"**_

_**The two boys looked at one another and then looked at her.**_

"_**You don't know our names?" said the boy to the right. Naminé couldn't help but noticed how hurt he sounded. **_

"_**No, I'm afraid that I don't." she replied softly. "But I would like to."**_

_**The boy to the right looked at the boy next to him. "Should we tell her?"**_

"_**Of course!" the boy on the left said. "We'll tell you our names…if you can catch us first!"**_

_**And with that, the two boys ran in two separate directions. **_

"_**That's not fair!" Naminé laughed as she began to chase after the boy on the left side. "There's two of you and only one of me!"**_

_**Naminé picked up some of her dress and ran as fast as she could, sending a multitude of petals into the air. She could see the little boy as he ran from her, his adorable laughter echoing everywhere. **_

"_**Come on Nami!" he said gleefully. **_

_**Naminé didn't even stop to think about how this boy knew her name, she was having so much fun that it didn't matter to her. "I'm gonna get you!"**_

_**She watched as he ran down a slope and briefly disappeared from her view. When she stopped she saw that it actually wasn't a slope; it was a cliff. Panic set in Naminé's heart and she covered her mouth in fear. Had he really fallen off? She looked downward but there was nothing but more of the flower field. **_

_**She considered jumping off the cliff, but then a hand pulled her arm back. She blinked and saw the little boy standing there, his face slightly less blurry. But the only thing that she clearly saw were his eyes; a pair of clear sky blue eyes that were looking at her with fear. **_

"_**You got me, so don't jump." He said worriedly. **_

"_**I was only going to jump to make sure you were okay." Naminé explained calmly; although inwardly her heart was still racing. **_

"_**But I'm here now!" he said brightly. "So I have to tell you my name!"**_

"_**Please do." Naminé smiled tenderly. **_

"_**Don't tell anyone else, okay?" he whispered. Naminé nodded and he smiled. "It's Viento."**_

"_**Viento?" She repeated. "It's nice to meet you Viento."**_

_**Viento leaned closer to Naminé and whispered, "Nami, do you promise to love me?"**_

_**Naminé chuckled. She had never been asked such a question in her life, but then again little kids did have a habit of saying the strangest things. But honestly, Viento was so adorable that Naminé found it difficult for anyone not to love him. **_

"_**I promise." She said serenely. **_

_**He beamed at her and threw himself into her arms and managed to give her a kiss on the cheek.**_

"_**I love you, Naminé."**_

_**Naminé blinked. That last sentenced was spoken by a much more masculine voice, not a child's. And yet, Viento was the only one there with her and he was far from being a grown man. She was the only adult there. **_

_**Viento pulled himself away from her and solemnly said, "You should go find my brother, he'll be sad if you don't go to him."**_

"_**Okay." Naminé stood up and looked around; there was no one else within sight. She looked down at little Viento. "Where do you think he is?"**_

"_**He's where the stars shine the brightest." He replied. **_

"_**The stars?" Naminé looked up at the bright, sunny sky. "But it's not nighttime."**_

"_**Just run." He smiled. "He'll let you chase him."**_

_**He then ran off and quickly disappeared into a swirl of flower petals. Naminé didn't know where to begin looking for Viento's brother; his direction didn't really help much. **_

_**Nonetheless she stepped forward. **_

_**She walked around for what seemed like hours, at this point she was starting to feel like she was going around in circles. But then she looked up at the sky; a bright shooting star appeared. The tail at the end was like the end of a painting brush: it colored the sky a rich navy blue. Slowly, stars began to decorate the night sky. **_

_**Naminé took a step forward and was amazed to see that certain stars began to shine brighter, slowly lighting a path for her. Remembering the directions Viento gave her, Naminé picked up her dress again and began running. She kept her eyes focused in the star path; she wanted to be sure that she was going in the right direction. **_

_**She only looked downwards when her shoes no longer touched the softness of the flower field. It was stone. Naminé looked around and saw several stone pillars around some patches of grass. There was one white pillar at the very center. It looked like it was made out of marble stone.**_

_**As she walked closer to the marble pillar, Naminé could see a tiny shadow from the other side of the pillar. She smiled. **_

"_**I found you!" she said pleasantly. **_

_**The little boy peeked around the side of the pillar and Naminé saw the exact same pair of blue eyes that Viento had. But there was something different about this boy's gaze; it was uncertain, guarded but yet it was calling out to her. She knelt down in front of him and held out her hand.**_

"_**Will you please tell me your name?" she spoke as softly as she could. She was glad to see that the little boy took her hand. **_

"_**Sterren." He said quietly. **_

"_**That's a beautiful name!" Naminé told him. "What does it mean?"**_

"_**It means star." He replied with the smallest of smiles. **_

_**Naminé gasped. "Really? I love stars!"**_

_**Sterren's smile grew. "You do?" **_

"_**They're my favorite!" she replied enthusiastically. "They're just so beautiful!"**_

"_**You're beautiful, too." Sterren mumbled shyly. **_

_**Naminé blushed. "Oh, thank you." **_

"_**Naminé…" he whispered in a shaky voice. "Do you…do you think that…you could…love me?"**_

_**This time Naminé was only slightly surprised by his question. She felt so unexplainably attached to these two boys that really, she couldn't imagine herself not loving them. **_

"_**Of course I can love you." She said reassuringly. "You'll be the star I love the most."**_

_**Sterren jumped into her arms and sighed. "I promise that I'll always love you, Naminé."**_

"_**I promise that I'll always love you, too." She said fondly as she closed her eyes. **_

"_**I will keep my promise to you." **_

_**Naminé opened her eyes. Once again she heard an adult male's voice that sounded quite similar to the voice she heard when she was with Viento. But this voice had a slightly deeper tone that sent shivers up her spine. Naminé looked down at Sterren as he was slowly pulling away from her embrace. **_

"_**The stars are really happy." He said lightly.**_

"_**And why is that?" she was trying to mask her relief that Sterren still sounded like a child. **_

"_**Because you love me." He replied shyly. **_

_**Naminé smiled warmly. "How could I not love you?"**_

_**Sterren gave a shy little laugh. **_

"_**But…" **_

_**Naminé looked up and she saw what was undoubtedly Viento's figure; he was standing behind them at the edge of the flower field. **_

"_**You said that you loved me." He said dolefully. **_

"_**And I do." She said earnestly. "I do love you, Viento."**_

"_**What…?" Sterren said in disbelief. "But you just said that you loved me the most!"**_

"_**I love you too, Sterren!" Naminé said keenly. "I love both of you!"**_

"_**You can't do that." Sterren said dejectedly. **_

"_**Why not?" Naminé asked bewilderedly. **_

"_**Because I love you." Viento said solemnly. **_

"_**And I love you." Sterren said sincerely. **_

_**Naminé was about to reply to them both but a fierce gust of wind blew right at them, Viento disappearing with it. Sterren slowly began to glow and before Naminé knew it, he flew up into the starry sky. The rest of the stars' lights slowly dimmed out one by one. **_

"_**Naminé." Said the same soft male voice she had heard when she was talking to Sterren. **_

"_**Naminé." Said the other male voice that she heard when she had been talking to Viento.**_

_**Flower petals swirled all around Naminé and she buried her face in her hands, squeezing her eyes shut. **_

Naminé woke up with a start and she blinked rapidly. She was still on board the airplane.

"Excuse me, miss?"

Naminé looked at the flight attendant approaching her. "Y-yes?"

"We'll be landing in just a few minutes," the young woman said politely. "Please gather any personal items you may have on you."

"Okay." Naminé sat up straight in her seat and made sure her purse was where she had left it. Naminé quickly checked her phone and was quite surprised to find that four hours had passed.

_That dream…what did it mean? Who on earth were those two boys? Whose voices were the other ones calling me? _

Naminé shook her head. _This is what happens when I don't sleep like I should. _

The plane landed and its occupants slowly vacated it. Most people were still yawning when Naminé got out. She was cleared at customs and excited the terminal, making her way to the luggage claim area. She spotted a luggage cart and quickly grabbed it before someone else could. She struggled to load her luggage bags onto the cart on her own, but luckily some passerby gave her a hand.

Naminé pulled out her cell phone from her purse and saw that the time zone had updated itself. It was now 5:04pm. Naminé scrolled her list of contacts and found the campsite's number that Xion always called from. Cell phone reception was abysmal, so somehow the Land of Departure's government was able to set up a land line for them to use. Naminé had never personally called Xion before, as it was usually her cousin who made the calls. So, Naminé dialed the number and after three rings, someone picked up.

But it wasn't Xion.

"Hello?" Said a soft, yet unmistakable male voice.

Naminé almost dropped her phone from the shock. _This voice! It's the same one from my dream! It's that other voice that Sterren spoke in!_

"Sterren?" she asked nervously. "Is that you, Sterren?"

"I think you have the wrong number." The guy on the other end said with a slight chuckle.

_What am I thinking? Of course it can't be Sterren!_

"I'm sorry." Naminé cleared her throat and steadied her voice. "Can I speak with Xion, please?"

"May I ask who's calling?" the man's voice softened even more.

"My name is Naminé." She replied politely. "I'm her cousin."

"I know." The man replied warmly. "She's told us about you and her sister, Kairi."

"All good things, I hope?" Naminé giggled. The nervousness she had initially felt seemed to have melted away.

"Of course!" the guy laughed. His laughter was so calming to her ears, she took a seat in an empty couch in the Guest Pick Up area. "She also told us that you'll be arriving alongside her sister in two weeks."

Naminé smiled mischievously at that. The fact that Xion was completely clueless about Naminé's arrival made Naminé inwardly giggle with excitement.

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked playfully.

"I sure can." The guy replied brightly.

"I'm already here." She said.

"Here?" he asked. "Do you mean…?"

"I'm currently sitting at the Land of Departure's International Airport." Naminé said proudly.

"Really?!" the young man sounded as excited as she felt.

"Yup!" Naminé laughed. "It's the reason why I'm calling Xion!"

"So she's gonna go pick you up?" Naminé suddenly heard another voice coming from his end, but she couldn't decipher what the other person said.

"That's what I'm hoping for." Naminé replied. "If not, I can call a cab."

"That won't be necessary." The guy said bracingly. "We have a truck here. We can go pick you up right now."

"Really?" she beamed. "Thank you so much!"

"You're very welcome!" he said warmly.

It had just now dawned on her that she didn't even have a clue of whom she was talking with.

"I'm sorry, what's your name?" she asked somewhat shyly.

The young man chuckled. "I'm Roxas."

_Roxas…what a cool, unusual name!_

"Would you like for us to come and get you right now?" Roxas asked tenderly.

"Is there any way that you can drive Xion here…" Naminé said slowly. "Without telling her where she's being driven to and why?"

"That's pretty sneaky." Roxas chuckled. "I like that!"

Naminé blushed. _Wait, is he referring to liking my sneaky plan or is he saying that he like that I'm being sneaky?_

"Tell you what…" Roxas said thoughtfully. "I'll drive Xion up there myself."

Naminé smiled excitedly as the blush on her cheeks spread like wildfire.

"She's outside right now with the rest of the crew." Roxas said. "I'll go find her and then we'll come and get you ASAP."

"Thank you very much, Roxas." Naminé said sweetly; her blush intensified when she said his name. "Oh, how will I know you guys are here?"

"Can you give me your cell phone number?" he asked seriously. "Cell phones don't work out here at all, but they will once we're in the city."

"Oh okay!" she smiled. She gave him her number and couldn't help feel inexplicably giddy. She realized that she was being silly and tried to shake off the feeling.

"Okay." Roxas said. "I'll text you when we get to the airport so that we can meet up and drive you here to the campsite. Sora, can you go get Xion?"

"I'll be waiting!" Naminé smiled. She could hear a guy with a jovial voice replying to Roxas in the distance.

"I look forward to meeting you in person, Naminé." Naminé didn't think it would be possible for his voice to sound more attractive that it already did, but the moment he said her name, she felt her knees weaken.

"And I look forward to meeting you in person, Roxas." She said softly. "Bye."

"Bye…" and with that Roxas hung up.

Naminé looked down at her phone and smiled. She honestly had no idea why she was feeling so giddy. It was like she was a teenage schoolgirl who had just talked to her crush for the very first time.

She blinked confusedly. _Crush? That shouldn't be, I've barely spoken to him. His voice just happens to be very appealing, that's all. _

Naminé got up from her seat and placed her phone inside her purse. She then pushed her luggage cart around the airport; she had plenty of time before Xion and Roxas arrived.

She looked around at the various little shops but with her luggage cart she couldn't look inside the shops. One small bookstore caught her attention, however.

She walked as close to it as possible since her cart wasn't allowed in the shops at all. On the nearest bookshelf she saw a book that caught her attention.

**The Dreamer's Guide- The Hidden Meaning behind Dreams**

She walked closer to the bookshelf and was thankful that this bookstore wasn't a closed shop like the other small stores. She picked up the book and began flipping through the pages until she came across the entry that she was looking for: stars.

"**To see stars in your dreams symbolizes excellence, success, aspirations or high ideals. Alternatively, stars signify your desire for fame and fortune."**

Naminé frowned. _I seriously doubt that that's what my dream with Sterren and Viento meant._

She put the book back on its shelf and kept looking around the nearest shelves. She really wanted to go inside the shop and look at the other books, but she couldn't leave her luggage cart unattended. She looked at the shelves in the back of the store and saw something interesting.

**Symbols in Dreams- A Complete Dream Dictionary**

Naminé looked around the shop for an employee, but there was no one at the register. She really didn't want to leave her cart but she really wanted to take a look at that book.

"Can I help you?" asked a deep, male voice from behind her.

Naminé jumped slightly and she turned to her left side and saw a tall man with rich brown hair and dark blue yes. He was smiling kindly at her, that caused her to instantly relax. She noticed that he was wearing a gray dress shirt and black slacks, but more importantly was the name tag his shirt.

It had the name Terra written in black ink.

"Do you work here?" she asked, pointing that the bookshop behind her.

"Yes, I do." Terra replied. "Is there something I can help you with, miss?"

"There's a book on the back shelf that I'd like to take a look at." She replied politely. She pointed at the book in question. "That dream dictionary."

Terra nodded. "Understood, I'll be right back."

He walked past her and into his shop. He grabbed the book she wanted and then walked back to her. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, thank you." Naminé smiled. She took the book from him and began looking through it until she came across what she was looking for.

"**Stars are considered to be good omens, bringing fortune and good health. However, stars are also signs of an oncoming struggle. Heed the warning it presents and you'll overcome the challenge(s) before you. If you get such dreams then you'll understand that even in hard times, luck will be there to help you out. Stars in dreams can also signify that you have a desire close to your heart that may be related to your career or a specific person. But don't fret, for the stars will light your path."**

Naminé couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. _While I don't know about being closer to someone, this surely must mean that our expedition will be successful!_

She looked up from the book and saw that Terra was standing at the register texting away on his cell.

"Um, excuse me?" she called to him. When he looked at her directly, Naminé held up the book for him to see. "How much is this?"

"It's 25 munny." He replied to her.

Naminé grabbed her purse and then grabbed munny from her wallet. She held out the Munny for him to see and he walked towards her.

"Thank you very much." He said as he took her munny. On his way back to the register, Terra rounded a corner and accidentally knocked over a small book shelf full of children's books. "Oh crap!"

Naminé place her new book on top of her purse and went over to help Terra pick up the other books and put them back of the small shelf.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Terra said reassuringly. "It's okay, really."

"No no, please let me." Naminé insisted. She grabbed a book closest to her that was wide open. She was about to close it when the text caught her attention.

"…**and when the king told his daughter the news, her heart began to ache. She loved the oldest twin, yes. But she loved him as a dear friend. Her heart had always belonged to his younger twin. But she had no choice in the matter; the Princess of Emotion was bound by duty. Her eyes looked at the oldest of the twins and saw the elation in his face."**

_Oh my god…this is…!_

She closed the book and looked at the front cover; it was a vivid blue shade bit it didn't have a title. All it had was gold lines on the edges. She looked at Terra and with a shaky hand she asked him, "Do you know what this book is called?"

Terra took the book from her and looked at the book. "I'm afraid I don't have the slightest clue."

"How much is it?" she asked eagerly.

"Quite honestly, I'm not sure this book is even from this store." Terra said. "I think someone may have left this book here on accident."

He handed her the book and smiled at her. "You can keep it if you want."

"R-really?" Naminé's heart rate began to pick up.

"Yeah." Terra chuckled. "Like I said, it's not even part of our inventory here."

"Oh my god, thank you so much!" Naminé beamed.

"You're very welcome." He picked up the rest of the books and began organizing them.

Naminé stood up and looked around for a place to sit down and begin reading the book. But at that very moment, her phone vibrated.

It was a text message from Roxas.

**Roxas: Xion and I are here. Where are you?**

She looked around for the nearest exit and saw that she was right by Gate S.

**Naminé: I'm right in front of Gate S. **

**Roxas: Okay, we'll be right there! **

Naminé smiled. She then quickly shoved the fairytale book inside her purse and pushed her cart towards the exit. She only waited a few moments before she spotted a familiar raven haired girl walking in Naminé's direction. Naminé then noticed the tall blond walking beside her cousin; he had a pair so clear, sky blue eyes. His was uncertain, guarded but yet comforting at the same time.

_That must be Roxas. Good heavens, he's gorgeous. _

"Just tell me why we're here already!" Xion said anxiously.

"You're so impatient, Xion." Roxas chuckled. "Haven't you heard of the saying, 'Good things come to those who wait'?"

"Yes, I have." Xion said. "But I'd like to know why we're here at the airport."

It was at that moment that Roxas' eyes found Naminé. In that instant, her whole world stopped. His eyes completely engulfed her and she could barely breathe.

"That's why we're here." He said softly, his gaze never breaking contact with Naminé's eyes.

"Nami!" Xion said ecstatically.

Naminé was forced to look away from Roxas as Xion ran into her and the two girls hugged.

"I can't believe you're here!" Xion said happily. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming today?"

"Because I wanted to surprise you!" Naminé laughed.

"Wait," Xion said with a slight frown. "You didn't tell me but you told Roxas?"

"She literally told me that just 45 minutes ago." Roxas said. "She called the campsite, I picked up and we had a nice conversation."

"A conversation that just happened to be about plotting against you." Naminé said playfully.

"I can see that!" Xion laughed. "Oh, I'm so happy that you're here!"

"How do you think I feel?" Naminé said excitedly.

"Naminé." Roxas said and her heart fluttered. "I'm Roxas Gemelo."

_Where are my manners?! _

"Nice to meet you Roxas, I'm Naminé Coeur." She held out her hand and they shook hands. His hands were a little rough in comparison to her soft hands, but she liked the sensation.

"Where's your stuff?" Xion asked as Roxas and Naminé let their hands separate.

Naminé pointed at her luggage cart. "Right here!"

"I'll get it for you." Roxas walked past Xion and grabbed Naminé's cart, leading the way into the parking lot.

"I can't wait for you to see the campsite!" Xion said as she and Naminé walked side-by-side with linked arms. "It's so huge!"

"I can't wait to see it!" Naminé said energetically. "I can't wait to meet the rest of the crew too!"

"Oh, you're gonna get along with them just fine." Roxas said as he reached a silver Titan truck. "There's my cousin Sora, his best friend Riku…"

Naminé noticed that Xion blushed slightly at the mention of Riku's name.

"And then there's my brother, Ventus." Roxas finished as he began loading Naminé's luggage in the back of the truck.

"Oh, Ventus likes to be called Ven." Xion said. "Also good luck telling them apart, I always confuse them."

Roxas laughed. "I told you, just look at our wrist bands."

Naminé then noticed the checkered pattern wrist band he was wearing. "Does your brother not have one?"

"He does." Roxas answered as he loaded the last suitcase onto the truck. "It's the reverse pattern on mine."

"Still." Xion rolled her eyes. "Good luck telling them apart."

Roxas shook his head and then smiled at Xion as she walked onto the copilot's seat. He then looked at Naminé and gave her a crooked smile that made her heart skip a beat.

_Somehow, I don't think I'll have a hard time telling Roxas apart from Ventus._

* * *

**I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter up, but hopefully it'll be within the next two weeks! **


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